Aaron Civale was wonderful on Friday night only giving up two hits in seven shutout innings. Civale earned his first win since June 8th against the Red Sox.
Josh Bell hit a 2-run 404-foot bomb to the bleachers, his 9th of the season. The other run was an RBI single by Josh Naylor in the first inning scoring Amed Rosario.
The Cleveland Guardians are 44-44 after tonight’s win, getting them back to .500 for the first time since they won at Boston back on April 28th.
In Friday night’s game, Aaron Civale delivered an outstanding performance, recording a season-high nine strikeouts over seven innings. Josh Bell’s two-run homer contributed to the Cleveland Guardians’ 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
Civale (3-2) was in top form, allowing only two hits and issuing no walks in his 100-pitch outing, with 70 of them finding the strike zone. This dominant display helped him lower his ERA to 2.56. Despite missing two months due to a strained left oblique, Civale has excelled in his seventh start since returning.
The Guardians’ bullpen continued to impress as Trevor Stephan handled the eighth inning and Emmanuel Clase secured his 25th save, wrapping up the game with a two-hit shutout. Cleveland (44-44) celebrated its second consecutive win, reaching the .500 mark for the first time since April 28 when they held a 13-13 record.
Remarkably, the game was completed in a swift 1 hour and 51 minutes, setting a new record as the shortest nine-inning contest in the history of Progressive Field, which has been open since 1994.
In the fourth inning, Josh Bell delivered a powerful blow, launching a two-run homer onto the left-field home run porch. This extended the Guardians’ lead to 3-0. In the first inning, Josh Naylor had singled home Amed Rosario, and later in the game, he scored on Bell’s ninth home run of the season.
Naylor and Bell have been instrumental in Cleveland’s offensive production, accounting for an impressive 35.7% of the team’s RBIs, making them the leading duo in the major leagues. The New York Mets’ Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor rank second with 30.7%.
The Kansas City Royals struggled to generate offense, with only Bobby Witt Jr. doubling in the fourth, MJ Melendez doubling in the fifth, and Maikel Garcia drawing a walk in the ninth to represent their sole baserunners.
The Royals’ road trip has been challenging, as they suffered their fifth consecutive loss, managing just 26 hits while being outscored 31-8. Starting pitcher Daniel Lynch (2-4) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings of work.
Civale’s exceptional pitching was highlighted by his ability to strike out Salvador Perez and Nick Pratto on all six of their plate appearances. Pratto’s frustration reached a boiling point when he was ejected by plate umpire Brennan Miller after being caught looking for the third time.
Despite fouling a pitch off the right side of his face in the fourth inning, Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia demonstrated resilience and remained in the game.
Saturday 7/8 4:10 PM EST – Game 3 of 4 vs Royals
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