CLEVELAND — Rookie Oscar Gonzalez broke up the longest scoreless postseason game in major league history with a leadoff home run off Corey Kluber in the 15th inning, giving the Cleveland Guardians a 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday and a two-game Wild Card Series sweep.
Gonzalez, who walks to the plate to the “SpongeBob SquarePants” theme song, drove a 1-0 cutter, the 432nd pitch in the nearly five-hour game, over the 19-foot wall in left-center to touch off a wild celebration inside Progressive Field.
AL Central champion Cleveland, the youngest team in the major leagues, opens the best-of-five Division Series on Tuesday at the AL East champ New York Yankees.
The Rays are now eliminated from the MLB Playoffs.