CLEVELAND — Lane Thomas hit a three-run homer in a five-run outburst before Detroit got an out, and the Cleveland Guardians unleashed their lights-out bullpen to complete a four-hitter in a 7-0 win over the Tigers in an AL division series opener on Saturday.

Thomas’ shot – on his first career postseason swing – helped the Guardians cool off the Tigers, who stormed into the playoffs with a second-half surge before sweeping AL West champion Houston in the wild-card round.

Tanner Bibee pitched 4 2/3 innings before Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt swung the door open to baseball’s best bullpen to finish off the Tigers. Relievers combined for 4 1/3 hitless innings to finish the largest shutout victory margin in Cleveland postseason history.

Detroit struck 13 out times and didn’t get a runner past first in the final four innings.

Cleveland’s bullpen was as advertised. Rookie Cade Smith (1-0) replaced Bibee and struck out all four batters. Tim Herrin took care of the seventh, Hunter Gaddis the eighth, and Emmanuel Clase, who led the AL with 47 saves, worked the ninth.

David Fry added a two-run, sixth-inning double for the AL Central champion Guardians, who were unaffected by not playing for almost a week with a first-round bye.

Game 2 is Monday, when the Tigers will turn to Tarik Skubal, the favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award, to try and even the best-of-five series.

The 2,327th meeting between Detroit and Cleveland was the first between the franchises and Central division rivals in the postseason.

It was as good as over after one inning.

Tigers Manager A.J. Hinch has made the right decisions for months as his young club went from being under .500 at the trade deadline to qualifying for the postseason with a 33-13 flourish since Aug. 11.

Hinch used his bullpen in Game 1 from the start and it backfired.

The Guardians sent nine batters to the plate in the first with Thomas’ moon shot into the left-field bleachers opening the 5-0 lead. Cleveland became the first team in AL postseason history to score five runs before recording an out.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

METS 6, PHILLIES 2: Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo keyed another comeback in New York’s electric run through the National League playoffs, helping the Mets break through for five runs in the eighth inning against a pair of All-Star relievers as they rallied over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of their division series.

The Mets had been stymied by Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, held to just one hit while trailing 1-0 and unable to muster any real scoring chances over the first seven innings.

With Wheeler lifted after nine strikeouts and a startling 30 swings-and-misses over 111 pitches, the Mets – whose whirlwind week included a victory in a makeup doubleheader at Atlanta to clinch a postseason spot and three games in the Wild Card Series at Milwaukee – pounced against Phillies relievers Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm in the eighth.

NOTES

DODGERS: Pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Joe Kelly were left off the Los Angeles Dodgers’ roster for their NL division series against the San Diego Padres that started Saturday night.

Edgardo Henriquez, a 22-year-old right-hander whose fastball averaged 98.7 mph when he pitched his first three big league games during the final week of the regular season, was included by the Dodgers. Right-hander Michael Grove was included but outfielder Kevin Kiermaier was omitted.

A 36-year-old left-hander, Kershaw is a three-time Cy Young Award winner and 10-time All-Star. He returned July 25 from shoulder surgery but has been sidelined since Aug. 31 with a bone spur in his left big toe.

Kelly, a 36-year-old right-hander, didn’t pitch between Aug. 30 and Sept. 18 because of right shoulder inflammation but returned to make four late-season appearances.