Emmanuel Clase blew his 9th save of the season by giving up three runs in the ninth inning. Clase did not get any help from his defense as Brayan Rocchio had a chance to get the final out but could not get in front of the ball to make the last out, allowing the tying run to score. The next batter Randy Arozarena hit a line drive to right-center, but right fielder Ramon Laureano made a diving attempt but could not make the play as well giving up the walk-off winning single.
The Rocchio play could have been made, but he was not in position. Laureano almost made a spectacular catch, but that was not an easy play. Just a gut punch of a loss.
Gavin Williams did his job, going five strong with ten strikeouts and no walks.
Jose Ramirez did have his suspension reduced to two games, and he sat out Saturday for his first game and will be out Sunday as well.
The Guardians hitters stepped up with 13 hits, with six hitters with multiple hits on Saturday.
In the ninth inning of Saturday’s game, Randy Arozarena of the Tampa Bay Rays hit an RBI single to the right-center field, sealing a three-run comeback against Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase. This helped the Rays secure a 6-5 victory over the Guardians.
Emmanuel Clase (1-7), the Cleveland closer, surrendered a one-out double to Yandy Díaz. Following this, Díaz advanced to third due to a wild pitch and managed to score, tying the game at 5, thanks to Brandon Lowe’s infield single. The decisive moment came when the All-Star Arozarena capitalized on an 0-2 pitch to clinch the victory.
Arozarena commented on his approach, saying, “I was focused on avoiding a strikeout,” as he looked at the radar and observed Clase’s pitches reaching 102 mph. He also mentioned moderating his swing to avoid overexerting, slightly adjusting his grip on the bat.
This marked Clase’s ninth blown save out of 40 opportunities.
Tampa Bay had previously won the series opener on Friday night with a score of 9-8, courtesy of a leadoff home run by Wander Franco in the bottom of the ninth after the Rays had let go of a three-run lead in the top of the inning.
Rays manager Kevin Cash noted the excitement of his players, stating, “They were enthusiastic last night… Perhaps even more enthusiastic tonight, given that we were trailing the entire day.”
Cleveland’s rookie pitcher, Gavin Williams, delivered an impressive performance by striking out 10 batters over five innings. In his 10th career start, Williams allowed only one run and five hits without walking any batters. His ERA dropped from 2.90 to 2.80. Standing at 6 feet 6 inches, the right-hander had recently showcased his skills with 12 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Guardians manager Terry Francona expressed his satisfaction with Williams’ development, stating, “I believe Gavin is maturing right before our eyes.”
Notably, Williams’ 22 strikeouts over his last two starts surpassed the performance of any Cleveland rookie in a two-game span since Herb Score in 1955. He joined the ranks of Score and Bob Feller (1936) as the only Cleveland rookies to achieve consecutive double-digit strikeouts.
Williams exhibited a strong fastball consistently clocking in the upper 90s, complemented by a slower curveball.
Luke Raley contributed with a home run and an RBI double for the Tampa Bay Rays, who currently hold the top spot in the AL wild-card race. Raley’s double in the eighth inning narrowed the gap to 5-3.
Cleveland’s All-Star third baseman, José Ramírez, was absent due to a two-game MLB suspension resulting from an altercation with Chicago’s Tim Anderson. Ramírez’s suspension was reduced from three games to two. Consequently, he will also miss the series finale on Sunday.
The Guardians secured a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning, with Oscar Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly and Myles Straw’s RBI on a fielder’s choice grounder.
During the eighth inning, Kole Calhoun and Cam Gallagher’s run-scoring singles against Josh Fleming (2-0) extended Cleveland’s lead to 5-2. Fleming returned to play after a stint on the 60-day injured list due to left elbow inflammation.
Tampa Bay closed in on the score at 3-2 with a seventh-inning RBI single by pinch-hitter Harold Ramírez.
The Guardians took a 1-0 lead in the third inning as Steven Kwan tripled off Erasmo Ramírez and subsequently scored on Brayan Rocchio’s sacrifice fly.
Raley leveled the score at 1 in the fourth inning with his 16th home run, marking his first since July 5.
Andrés Giménez jammed his toe rounding second base. Francona will check with him Sunday but feels he should be fine.
Up Next
Sunday 8/13 1:40 PM EST – Series Finale at Tampa Bay Rays
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