Lane Thomas hit a three-run homer in a five-run outburst before the Tigers got an out, and the 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 the AL West champion Astros in the wild-card round.

“It started with the guys in front of me,” Thomas said.

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 and match the largest shutout victory margin in Cleveland postseason history.

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

The Guardians’ 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.

“It’s incredible. to come out and do what they do, day in and day out, especially during the season, 162 (games), it shows what we have back there,” Thomas said.

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.

Mets use another October rally to top Phillies: Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo keyed another comeback in the Mets’ 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 for a 6-2 win Saturday over the 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.

Kershaw won’t pitch for the Dodgers in playoffs: Clayton Kershaw, sidelined since late August with a toe injury, won’t pitch again this season for the Dodgers.

“This is it for Clayton for 2024,” manager Dave Roberts said Saturday before Game 1 of the NLDS.