Guardians edge closer to clinching playoff berth with 2-0 victory, series split with Rays | Sports

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Strange issues appear to occur when Brayan Rocchio tries to bunt, whether or not he's profitable or not. That was the case once more on Sunday when Rocchio failed to get a bunt down within the second inning and as an alternative blooped an RBI single into proper area on the subsequent pitch from Tampa’s Taj Bradley in a 2-0 Guardians win in opposition to the Rays.

Rocchio’s bunt try bounced up and hit his bat earlier than settling in entrance of the plate. Catcher Ben Rortvedt would have had Daniel Schneemann lifeless to rights coming down the third bottom line, nevertheless it was dominated a foul ball by house plate umpire Alan Porter, with slightly assist from third base ump Chad Whitson.

Instead, Rocchio’s thirty fourth RBI on a cutter from Bradley scored Schneemann, who opened the inning with a leadoff double and moved to third on a floor out by Bo Naylor. That was all of the offense Cleveland would want as starter Ben Lively tossed 5 environment friendly innings, holding the Rays scoreless on simply 59 pitches.

Cleveland’s bullpen backed Lively with 4 shutout frames, and Emmanuel Clase picked up his league-leading forty fifth save, a profession excessive, with a 1-2-3 ninth, shifting one save closer to the Guardians’ single-season report of 46 held by Jose Mesa (1995).

The Guardians diminished their magic quantity to clinch the American League Central Division to 9 over the Royals, who misplaced to Pittsburgh shortly after the Guardians and Rays went last. Cleveland additionally moved closer to securing a playoff spot, with a magic variety of 4 (successfully 3) over Detroit and Seattle. The earliest Cleveland can clinch a playoff bid is Tuesday in opposition to Minnesota.

It was Cleveland’s twelfth shutout win, and marked the fifty fifth time the Guardians bullpen tossed a minimum of three shutout innings in a recreation, probably the most in baseball.

Sunday was not the primary time Rocchio discovered success after failing to get a bunt down in an RBI state of affairs. Facing New York on Sept. 4, Rocchio twice failed to drop a bunt honest, however with two strikes, the rookie shortstop blasted his seventh house run into the seats at Yankee Stadium.

Rocchio, who's batting .273 with an .875 OPS in 13 video games since Sept. 1, mentioned when he squared to bunt in opposition to Bradley, he was attempting to give Schneeman an opportunity to rating.

“That bunt was coming from myself,” Rocchio mentioned. “I wanted to get the run in, and then I switched my mind and tried to hit the ball in the air. That’s what happened.”

Guardians supervisor Stephen Vogt mentioned Rocchio is a brilliant baseball participant, and he's growing into the kind of hitter he'll sometime be.

“He seems to come up with big hits,” Vogt mentioned. “He seems to find a way to drive that run in, whether it’s a bunt, whether it’s a flare, whether it’s a barrel or a homer or whatever it might be. He is learning and he’s continuing to develop into an unbelievable major league shortstop.”

Cleveland added a run within the fifth when Angel Martinez opened the inning with a single off Bradley (6-11, 4.39) and moved to third on one other bloop hit, this day without work the bat of José Ramírez. Tampa’s Junior Caminero failed to cowl third as shortstop Jose Caballero sprinted towards the left area line to make a play on the ball off Ramírez’s bat. That allowed Martinez to spherical second and dive into third safely.

After Tampa supervisor Kevin Cash summoned Mason Montgomery from the bullpen, Ramírez took off for second base, drawing a throw from catcher Ben Rortvedt. Ramírez was tagged out, however Martinez scored from third for a 2-0 Guardians lead.

Ramírez completed woith a pair of hits, together with a double within the first inning that prolonged his on-base streak to 14 video games. The six-time All-Star is on an eight-game hitting streak and batting .281 with a .812 OPS in that span. Ramírez’s 43 multi-hit video games lead the Guardians and rank tied for tenth within the American League.

Martinez, recalled from Triple-A Columbus prior to Saturday’s recreation, has reached base in 4 of eight plate appearances, together with two hits Sunday.

Lively, in the meantime, labored his means out of bother after permitting a pair of hits within the first to Brandon Lowe and Jonathan Aranda. He acquired Dylan Carlson to floor right into a fielder’s alternative to finish the inning and settled in after that.

Following Aranda’s two-out single within the first, Lively retired 13 of the subsequent 14 batters he confronted, together with back-to-back strikeouts of Ben Rortvedt and Jonny DeLuca to finish the second. He exited after permitting base hits to Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe to open the sixth.

Coming off a begin in opposition to the White Sox that noticed him exit within the second inning after taking a line drive off the again of his leg, Lively scattered 4 hits and didn't permit a run in 5 innings. He instructed reporters after the sport that he needed to carry the success he was having by two innings in Chicago into his outing in opposition to the Rays.

“It’s just about digging deep,” Lively mentioned. “This is the time of the year to just start digging down deep, and I am. Just trying to get everything right at the right time.”

Vogt summoned Cade Smith from the bullpen and smith fanned Caminero on three pitches for the primary out of the inning earlier than getting Aranda on a foul pop behind the plate and placing out Carlson on an ideal splitter on the backside of the strike zone.

Vogt praised Smith’s work ethic and mentioned it has allowed the rookie to flip in a dominant yr as a reliever.

“We have a ton of detailed, hardworking people on our team, and I think Cade might be number one,” Vogt mentioned. “I’m not shocked to see the consistent results that he’s been putting out there because he puts in the consistent work for it.”

Next: The Guardians open a four-game series in opposition to Minnesota on Monday at Progressive Field. Lefty Matthew Boyd (2-1, 2.18) will begin Game 1 in opposition to Twins right-hander Pablo López (15-8, 3.88). First pitch is about for six:40 p.m. The recreation will air on Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM 1100 AM, WMMS 100.7 FM, WARF 1350 AM (Spanish) and the Guardians Radio Network.