ST. LOUIS (AP) — Angel Martínez and Brayan Rocchio homered as the Cleveland Guardians beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-3 on Monday night.
Gavin Williams (2-1) allowed two runs in five-plus innings for the win. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out four.
Jordan Walker’s major league-best eighth home run leading off the sixth ended Williams’ night. Walker became the fifth player in Cardinals history to hit at least eight homers in the first 16
games of a season, joining Stan Musial (1954), Mark McGwire (1998), Scott Rolen (2004) and Albert Pujols (2006).
Martínez gave the Guardians a 1-0 lead in the first inning, sending Matthew Liberatore's curveball 398 feet over the left-field wall.
Daniel Schneemann’s two-run single sparked a Guardians rally in the fourth. Austin Hedges followed with a sacrifice fly to give Cleveland a 4-1 lead.
Rocchio made it 6-1 with a two-run homer off Justin Bruihl in the sixth that left his bat at 108.1 mph, according to Statcast.
Steven Kwan capped a three-run outburst in the eighth with a two-run single. Five of the nine Guardians batters reached safely at least twice.
Liberatore (0-1) needed a season-high 105 pitches to get through five innings. He allowed four runs on six hits, walked three and struck out two.
Alec Burleson’s RBI single drew the Cardinals even at 1 in the first, capping a string of three straight two-strike singles off Williams.
LHP Joey Cantillo (1-0, 2.45 ERA) starts for the Guardians against Cardinals RHP Michael McGreevy (1-1, 2.16) on Tuesday night.
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