Oscar Gonzalez and the homer that ended a marathon: 'I heard the loudest noise of my life'

CLEVELAND — Guardians catcher Austin Hedges was in the bathroom when he heard the crack of Oscar Gonzalez's bat. Then came the roar of the crowd. Then came bedlam and a frantic race onto the field.

Gonzalez sent the Guardians onward and the Tampa Bay Rays home with a monstrous solo home run in the 15th inning of Game 2 of the best-of-three American League Wild Card Series, giving Cleveland a 1-0 win and 2-0 victory in the series.

The Guardians and Rays had played for nearly five hours, deadlocked in a scoreless draw. After that long, Hedges simply had to use the restroom. He is human, after all, and he had been taken out of the game by that point. The second pitch of the 15th inning, delivered by Corey Kluber, finally ended a game that an inning prior became the longest scoreless game in postseason history.

Hedges' brief break wasn't quite fast enough. There was no warning. Only the sonic boom of Gonzalez making contact and sending the Guardians to New York, where the second-seeded Yankees are waiting for the American League Division Series.

"I might not have even finished buckling up my pants at the time and I heard the loudest noise of my life and that was his barrel and then the fans started yelling and I saw the boys running out there," Hedges said on the field, still shirtless well after the game had ended and the team's celebration in the clubhouse spilled outside. "So, I didn't even see it. I was getting ready for a nice rally. And nothing made me happier than running out onto the field with the guys. That's just honest."

Ace form: Shane Bieber shines on big stage in Game 1

The second Gonzalez hit it, every one of the 34,971 fans in attendance knew it was gone. Gonzalez knew it was gone, as he strutted a few steps before flipping his bat and pounding his chest in celebration. Hedges knew it was gone once he came sprinting out of the bathroom. Sam Hentges, who pitched the final three innings in relief and earned the win, said he knew it was gone "right off the crack of the bat." Manager Terry Francona knew it and said if it somehow hadn't gone out, he "probably would have cried if it didn't."

"Yes, it was very emotional," Gonzalez said through a team translator. "I wouldn't call it relief. I was just kind of excited. My first reaction was seeing some of the fans getting up, but also seeing Sandy [Alomar Jr.] on first base reacting, and before the at-bat, I just said a little prayer and asked God to let me do something good for my team, and more than relief, it's more the satisfaction to be able to do that for the team."

Ridenour: Guardians prove moment isn't too big of them

There weren't many people left in the bullpens. Sixteen pitchers had already been used between both teams. The Guardians had used eight. As the ball sailed into the bleachers in left-center field, bullpen coach Brian Sweeney and the few others left out there raced to the infield to join the celebration. It ended in injury, although, given the circumstances, Sweeney didn't seem to mind.

"I pulled my hamstring," Sweeney said. "Seriously, as soon as it happened, it was like, 'We gotta go' and I was limping in there."

Oscar Gonzalez combines SpongeBob and power to provide lift for Guardians lineup

Gonzalez is the 24-year-old rookie right fielder who uses the SpongeBob SquarePants — a popular cartoon show — theme song as his walk-up music "because kids love that song and this is a kid's game after all." It doesn't feel like it'd be the soundtrack of one of the biggest home runs for Cleveland in the 21st century. But every time the enthusiastic "OHHHHHH, who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" rings out at Progressive Field, those in the front office and dugout can see it as a beacon of one of the team's brightest young hitters who quickly has become a key part of the lineup.

The kid-friendly song, which is echoed by many in the stands, doesn't represent the violence Gonzalez is about to unleash on a baseball.

Gonzalez hit .296 with a .789 OPS, 11 home runs, 27 doubles and 43 RBIs in 91 games this season. Most of those home runs came in a flurry in September as his power surfaced. As he racked up multi-hit games almost immediately after being promoted to the majors, the Guardians were determined to be patient while Gonzalez waited for that first home run. It took time. Now, they're coming in bunches.

But that isn't to say any of this is surprising to those in Cleveland's organization. He just hadn't had this kind of a stage yet.

"He’s unbelievable. He’s been solid," Hentges said. "I came up with him and I always thought he was an unbelievable player and I’m glad the world is seeing it now."

Jose Ramirez helped to win Game 1 with a go-ahead, two-run home run, again putting the lineup on his back as he has in the past when needed. In Game 2, it was the rookie Gonzalez, somewhat fitting after the Guardians had 17 MLB debuts in 2022, which tied a franchise record. Gonzalez and Steven Kwan, especially, are major reasons the Guardians won the American League Central Division. And Gonzalez is a key reason why the Guardians are on their way to New York for the ALDS.

"If you look up his numbers in the minor leagues, he’s doing what he’s done his entire career," Hedges said. "The game doesn’t change for him. Just like the rest of our rookies — they didn’t come to the big leagues thinking, ‘This is the big leagues, something changes.’ They just continue to play baseball the way they always have.

"We have such a good leadership group here from top to bottom, from manager to front office, good veterans on the team. It allows guys to go be themselves. Oscar is the perfect example of a guy who just goes out and he is Oscar every game. When he does stuff like that, no one’s surprised."

Gonzalez's power is a secret no more. And it's possible the SpongeBob theme will give the Rays nightmares for a while.

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Wild Card Game 2: Oscar Gonzalez's power a secret no more