Game Recap 9/2/23 | Guardians Beat The Rays 7-6

Post-Game Live Recap

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3 Things About Guardians Victory over Tampa Bay Rays:

1 – Kwan saves the day! Tena too!

Steven Kwan had a big night at the plate.  In the 9th, with Cleveland down one and two outs, Kwan delivered with the game-tying single to score Myles Straw to tie it at 5. 

In the bottom of the 11th, with the Guards down 1, Jose Tena hit a clutch RBI single to tie it at 6. 

The next batter was Kwan, who hit a ball to the right center that was shallow, but the aggressive Bo Naylor took off as soon as the ball was caught and scored the winning run as the throw was off target.

2 – 10th Inning play at the plate

In the top of the 10th with one out and a runner on 3rd.  Osleivis Basabe hit a chopper to second and Andres Gimenez fired a bullet to home plate with Naylor making a great tag on the runner to record the second out of the inning and keeping the score tied at 5.

3 – Arias

The hot hitting of Gabriel Arias continued with another two hits including a two-run bomb in the 4th inning.

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Game Summary

In an electrifying 11th-inning showdown, Steven Kwan delivered a game-winning sacrifice fly, ushering Bo Naylor home with the decisive run. This clutch play came after Jose Tena had knotted the score with a single, propelling the Cleveland Guardians to a thrilling 7-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night.

The Rays’ center fielder, Jose Siri, had a chance to thwart Naylor’s dash to the plate, but his throw veered off target, leading to Chris Devenski (3-3) absorbing the loss in his inaugural appearance with the team.

Tampa Bay, perched comfortably atop the AL wild-card standings, suffered only its third defeat in the last 11 games. They now trail Baltimore by a mere two games in the East.

Brandon Lowe momentarily seized the lead for Tampa Bay, 6-5, with a crucial sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th, taking advantage of Sam Hentges (3-2) on the mound.

Cleveland extended the game to extra innings when Kwan, with just two outs left in the ninth, slapped a single off closer Pete Fairbanks, allowing Myles Straw to cross home plate. This marked Fairbanks’ second blown save out of 20 opportunities this season.

In the fifth inning, Tampa Bay staged a remarkable comeback from a 4-1 deficit, courtesy of Christian Bethancourt’s three-run homer off Cleveland starter Logan Allen. The Rays then surged ahead 5-4 in the sixth, fueled by Jose Siri’s colossal 422-foot solo blast against Nick Sandlin.

Debuting Cleveland relievers Reynaldo López and Matt Moore combined forces for 2 1/3 scoreless innings, only days after they were acquired off waivers from the Angels, alongside starter Lucas Giolito.

The Guardians are poised to activate first baseman Josh Naylor on Sunday. Naylor, sidelined since August 1 with a strained right oblique, leads the team with a .306 batting average and 79 RBIs.

Tampa Bay’s right-hander Zack Littell endured a tough outing, yielding four runs on a season-high nine hits in 4 2/3 innings, while southpaw Allen surrendered four runs across five innings while fanning five.

Tensions flared in the fifth inning as Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash was ejected by home plate umpire CB Bucknor for a dispute over a pitch-clock violation against Littell.

Up Next

Sunday 9/3 4:10 PM EST – Series Finale versus Tampa Bay