It’s time for the safety squeeze to take a bow: Guardians breakfast

CLEVELAND, Ohio - With the regular season coming to an end, and the postseason beckoning, it's time for a part of baseball's past to take a bow.

This season the Guardians dusted off a play from the dead ball era and added it to their offensive game plan. Let's hear a round of applause for the safety squeeze.

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As manager Stephen Vogt has said, if done correctly there's no way to stop it. The Guardians executed it in the sixth inning Sunday in a 2-1 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Myles Straw opened the inning with a single, Cleveland's first hit against starter Andre Pallante. He stole second and third base and scored when catcher Austin Hedges bunted a ball down the first baseline for a short-lived 1-0 lead.

It was the third safety squeeze by a Guardians' catcher this season - two by Hedges and one by Bo Naylor. That's the most from the catcher's position since the Cardinals and Astros had three each in 2005.

"Hedgie is a ballplayer," said Vogt. "He has good at-bats. The numbers may not show it, but he's a weapon offensively. He can put bunts down and has driven some big runs for us."

Said Straw, who was making his first start for the Guardians after spending most of the season at Class AAA Columbus, "When I got to third, with Hedgie being the bunter he is, I figured they'd run the squeeze. Hedgie put down the perfect bunt and we scored."

There are risks to the play.

On March 31, the fourth game of the regular season, Bo Naylor was on third base with Gabriel Arias at the plate in the ninth inning at the Oakland Coliseum. The Guardians and A's were tied, 3-3, when Vogt put the safety squeeze on.

Arias missed the bunt, while Naylor, anticipating that Arias would get the bunt down, broke too quickly from third. Catcher Shea Langeliers threw to third to erase Naylor and a potential game-winning rally.

The A's scored in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 win. The Guardians have gotten much better at the squeeze since.

Trivia time

Tonight's game The Guardians and Reds renew the competition for the Ohio Cup tonight. They have not played each other since mid-June when they split two games at Great American Ball Park.

RHP Tanner Bibee (11-8, 3.56) will start for Cleveland, while RHP Jakob Junis (4-0, 2.61) starts for the Reds. Bibee lost a 4-2 decision to Cincinnati on June 12. Junis is 3-9 with a 6.41 ERA in 18 games, including 15 starts, against Cleveland. The Reds sent Frankie Montas to the Brewers for Junis at the trade deadline.

Game time is 6:40 p.m. Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM, WMMS, WARF and the Guardians radio network will carry the series.

What's next Here's what awaits the Guardians following Tuesday's game against the Reds:

Wednesday: LHP Joey Cantillo (2-3, 4.63) vs. RHP Julian Aguilar (2-1, 6.25) at 6:40 p.m.

Thursday: The Guardians are off.

Friday: The Astros arrive at Progressive Field for a three-game series to end the regular season. Tenative rotation has RHP Ben Lively (13-9, 3.80) starting for Cleveland, while RHP Justin Verlander (4-6, 5.55) starts for Houston. Game time is 7:10 p.m. with Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM, WMMS, WARF and the Guardians radio network carrying the series.

Saturday: LHP Matthew Boyd (1-2, 2.72) vs. RHP Ronel Blanco (12-6, 2.88) at 6:10 p.m.

Sunday: RHP Gavin Williams (3-10, 4.86) vs. RHP Spencer Arrighetti (7-15, 4.61) at 3:10 p.m.

Oct. 1: The best-of-three wild card series in the AL and NL start. They will run through Oct. 3.

Oct. 5: The four division series, two in the AL, two in the NL, begin. The division series are the best-of-five.