Every game counts, and the Guardians are absolutely making them count.
José Ramírez added another to his long list of accolades. In the top of the first, he recorded his 30th home run of the season. This put him on a lot of very short lists. He is now the fourth player to ever record 3+ 30/30 seasons, and Cleveland’s first for the franchise. He is the second player ever to have multiple 30+HR, 30+2B, and 40+SB seasons in MLB history and the only player ever to do so back-to-back. All at the agile
age of 33 years old.
For those without Twitter, the non-Hammy call video can be watched here.
In the top of the second Bo Naylor joined in on the home run fun with a solo shot to right center.
With one out, George Valera hit his first major league home run!
The offense wasn’t without another stellar starting pitching performance. Slade Cecconi was absolutely carving it up, with six strikeouts going into the sixth inning. In the bottom of the second he faced a bit of trouble, giving up a lead off double. With the runner on third and two outs, Slade got the much needed strikeout to keep it scoreless for the Twins.
In the top of the fifth, Daniel Schneeman got in on the home run fun with a solo shot to right field.
Brayan Rocchio followed up with a double to right field, advancing to third with a Steven Kwan single. Kwan stole second. A throwing error by the catcher allowed Rocchio to easily score, putting the Guards up 5-0.
Slade Cecconi continued to dominate the Twins line up, recording five strikeouts between the fifth and sixth inning. Cecconi finished the night having gone a much needed seven innings. He allowed only two hits and walked only one. He struck out eight and continued the franchise record. For the last fifteen consecutive games, Cleveland starting pitching has allowed two runs or fewer per start. An insane run for a rotation that doesn’t feature prime Shane Bieber, Corey Kluber, or Cookie Carrasco.
In the top of the eighth Bo launched his second home run of the game, off of the facing of the second level.
Kolby Allard came on in relief in the bottom of the eighth. After allowing a rare, one-out walk, a double play got him out of the inning having only thrown 12 pitches. Allard came back in the ninth and, other than a double, pitched a crucial clean inning. Allard’s 2.0IP, 1H, 1BB, 2K performance kept the shutout and minimized the usage of the bullpen.
Stayed tuned to see if the Guardians can finally devil magic, power of friendship, Guardsball their way to breaking the double header curse that has plagued this club for years.
