Cleveland Guardians @ Tampa Bay Rays
Guardians end Rays' winning streak at 7 with 7-1 victory
TAMPA, Fla. -- — José Ramírez had three hits and two RBI and the Cleveland Guardians had a five-run second inning in a 7-1 victory over Tampa Bay on Friday night, snapping the Rays' season-best winning streak at seven.
The Guardians won for the fourth time in 14 games to reach .500 at 70-70 and keep their wild-card hopes alive. The Rays dropped to 71-69.
Cleveland broke through after the Rays, credited with beginning the opener trend in baseball, used an opener for the first time this season.
Griffin Jax worked a clean first, but Ian Seymour (3-1) quickly ran into trouble. He bobbled Gabriel Arias’ bunt for an error, then hit a batter and walked another to load the bases. Kwan singled in two runs, Ramírez followed with a two-run double, and David Fry added an RBI single to make it 5-0. Ramirez was 3 for 5 with the two RBI.
Austin Hedges homered for Cleveland in the fifth.
Gavin Williams (10-6) gave Cleveland seven solid innings, allowing one run on seven hits. He walked three and struck out three.
Williams' allowed Junior Caminero’s 41st homer in the sixth, the rookie’s AL-leading 14th since Aug. 1.
Seymour’s misplay on Arias’ bunt set up Cleveland’s five-run second.
Eight: The Guardians have homered in eight straight games, their second-longest streak of the season.
RHP Tanner Bibee (9-11, 4.77 ERA) was set to start for Cleveland on Saturday night against RHP Shane Baz (9-11, 4.98).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
CLE wins 3-1
Game Information
- Umpires:
- Home Plate Umpire - Jansen Visconti
- First Base Umpire - Andy Fletcher
- Second Base Umpire - Malachi Moore
- Third Base Umpire - Austin Jones
2025 American League Central Standings
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 88 | 74 | .543 | - | W2 |
| Detroit | 87 | 75 | .537 | 1 | L1 |
| Kansas City | 82 | 80 | .506 | 6 | W2 |
| Minnesota | 70 | 92 | .432 | 18 | L1 |
| Chicago | 60 | 102 | .370 | 28 | W1 |

