After last night’s commanding 10-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals, the Cleveland Guardians faced off once more for game two of the four game series. With Joey Cantillo taking the mound, the Guards were hoping to repeat the high scoring, pitching gem of the night prior.
José Ramírez kicked off the scoring with a first inning home run to give the Guards a one run lead. It was José’s 28th home run of the season, putting him on the precipice of his third 30/30 season. In the bottom of the fourth,
José tacked on a double to his night and scored when David Fry hit a RBI double to left. José added a single to his tally, putting him on cycle watch.
Much like last night’s game, it wasn’t just offense and strong pitching that made the game exciting. The outfield made some great defensive plays including Angel Martínez’s catch to end the first inning. Steven Kwan couldn’t be outdone by the youngster and made a diving catch of his own.
Once again, though, the highlight of the night was the starting pitcher. Joey Cantillo threw an absolute gem, going into the 8th inning having retired 16 in a row. Joey was given the opportunity for a CG:SO, but gave up a single in the first pitch of the ninth. Joey finished his stellar start having gone 8.0IP, 4H, 0R/ER, 0BB, 5K. Stephen Vogt immediately turned to Cade Smith to close out the game with an inherited runner on first. After recording the first out, a wild pitch advanced the runner to second. A single put runners on the corners, but Smith was not deterred. Back-to-back strikeouts got the win and the shutout!
The Guardians and Royals are back at it again tomorrow night. Logan T. Allen will face off against TBD. Michael Wacha was slated to start tomorrow but suffered a non-baseball related injury that put him on concussion protocol. Tune in at 6:40PM tomorrow to see if this little win streak can continue.
