Rocctober has returned to Cleveland.

Brayan Rocchio came up with another clutch hit in the postseason with the go-ahead homer in the eighth inning as the Guardians evened their AL Wild Card Series against the Detroit Tigers with a 6-1 victory in Game 2 on Wednesday.

“It was huge, an 0-2 count and he was ready to fire,” manager Stephen Vogt said of Rocchio’s blast. “It was a frustrating day offensively for us. Two hits leading into the 8th. For our guys to explode and get separation felt good.”

Bo Naylor also went deep in the eighth as the Guardians put up five runs to take control of the game.

George Valera also homered to force a deciding game in the best-of-three series.

The winner Thursday faces the Seattle Mariners in a Division Series. No team has lost Game 1 of a Wild Card Series and advanced since the expanded round began in 2022.

Javier Báez had two hits and an RBI for the Tigers, who were 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position and stranded 15 runners.

Detroit had the bases loaded with two out in the ninth inning, but Cade Smith got Dillon Dingler to line out to first baseman C.J. Kayfus.

“They made the most of their opportunities and we left 15 guys on. I think that paints the picture that it was today,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “The score doesn’t really indicate how the game was. But we kept giving ourselves a chance.”

The game was tied 1-1 with one out in the eighth inning when Rocchio connected on a 99.9 mph fastball from losing pitcher Troy Melton and drove it 379 feet into the right-field stands for his second homer in three games. He had a three-run drive in the 10th inning Sunday to give the Guardians a 9-8 victory over Texas in the regular-season finale.

“I’d been lucky to face him a couple times in Triple-A. In these situations, you have to tone it down a little bit and keep it simple. José’s recommendation was look for the fastball. That’s what I was trying to do,” Rocchio said through an interpreter.

The 24-year-old Venezuelan infielder has a .308 batting average (12 for 39) in 12 postseason games with two homers, two doubles and three RBIs, hitting .333 in last year’s playoffs.

Guardians teammates have referred to it as “Playoff Rocchio” mode.

“It speaks to his confidence. It doesn’t matter what the regular season holds, he comes out in these moments and he’s really confident and puts off a great swing. And you saw what happened,” outfielder Steven Kwan said,

Rocchio’s .257 batting average since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus on July 1 was second on the team to José Ramírez (.258). Rocchio also was third on the club in RBIs (36) and doubles (15).

Daniel Schneemann added an RBI double before Naylor golfed a sweeper from Brant Hurter over the right-field wall for a five-run lead.

Cade Smith got the win as the Guardians bullpen held Detroit scoreless over 4 1/3 innings.

Padres 3, Cubs 0 >> Manny Machado hit a two-run homer, Mason Miller dominated again and the San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, sending their NL Wild Card Series to a decisive third game.

Jackson Merrill hit an early sacrifice fly as San Diego avoided elimination after losing 3-1 on Tuesday. Dylan Cease struck out five in 3 2/3 innings before handing the ball to his team’s hard-throwing bullpen.

“That’s what postseason is about, man,” Machado said. “It’s a beautiful thing to be playing here in front of these crowds and with what’s at stake.”

The finale of the best-of-three series is back at Wrigley Field on Thursday.

The playoff-tested Padres are looking for a repeat of 2020, when they dropped Game 1 in the special pandemic wild-card round before advancing with two straight victories against St. Louis. Machado also homered in Game 2 of that series.

“There’s still a lot at stake just like there was today,” Machado said. “Our backs are still up against the wall, so go out there and try and play our best baseball for the next 27 outs.”

Chicago finished with four hits. The franchise is making its first appearance in the playoffs in five years, and it hasn’t advanced since it eliminated Washington in a 2017 NL Division Series.

“I think the first two games is really what you expected in this series, and I think tomorrow will be a lot of the same,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. I think we’re made for that. We’re going to have to produce more offense tomorrow; there’s no question. We didn’t do enough offensively today.”

San Diego jumped in front on Merrill’s flyball to right off Andrew Kittredge in the first, driving in Fernando Tatis Jr. Kittredge started for Chicago as an opener, and the right-hander was replaced by left-hander Shota Imanaga in the second.

The Padres added two more runs on Machado’s 404-foot drive to left off Imanaga in the fifth. Tatis reached on a leadoff walk and advanced on a sacrifice ahead of Machado’s 12th career playoff homer.

“That splitter was meant for down in the zone and just hung a little bit,” Imanaga said through a translator, “and for me it was like, why did that happen and something I’m going to think about, make those adjustments that I need to.”

The three runs were more than enough for San Diego’s bullpen, with Miller and Robert Suarez combining for 14 pitches of over 100 mph.

Morejon pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings before Miller showed off his electric stuff while striking out five consecutive batters. The 6-foot-5 right-hander reached 104.5 mph on a called third strike to Carson Kelly in the seventh that was the fastest pitch in the postseason since Statcast started tracking in 2008.

Miller, who was acquired in a trade with the Athletics on July 31, struck out the side in the seventh in his postseason debut on Tuesday. The eight straight Ks tied the postseason record set by Josh Hader in 2022.