Coming off a three-game sweep of Oakland, the Cleveland Guardians opened a three-game series at home Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox with a 4-1 win. The Guardians won three of four at Boston a week ago.
At 17-6, the Guardians lead the American League Central Division by 4 games at the conclusion of their victory. Their winning percentage is tops in Major League Baseball.
Here's how the game unfolded.
Guardians beat the Red Sox 4-1 Tuesday night
Emmanuel Clase earned the save in the ninth, his seventh of the season, and the Guardians beat the Red Sox 4-1.
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The Guardians have never had a better start to the season through 23 games than their 17-6 record, which was also done in 1966 and 1999.
Jose Ramirez career home run No. 220 extends Guardians lead against Red Sox
Jose Ramirez went to the opposite field for a solo home run, his fourth of the year. This hasn't been his best start to a season, as his OPS is still just .680. It's actually one of the better indicators of the Guardians' 16-6 start, as Ramirez hasn't quite been himself yet.
But that home run, the 220th of his career, puts the Guardians up 3-1 in the eighth. Ramirez is now just six home runs behind Earl Averill for fourth on the tam's all-time list.
Estevan Florial, who is hoping to play himself into a more regular role, later followed with an RBI double off the right-field wall to extend the Guardians' lead to 4-1.
Austin Hedges picks off Connor Wong with snap throw
Austin Hedges just recorded the biggest out of the game thus far.
With the Guardians holding a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth inning, Connor Wong was at first base representing the potential tying run. Hunter Gaddis threw a ball in the dirt, and Hedges not only picked it, but caught Wong too far off first base. Hedges picked him off with a snap throw for the second out of the inning.
Hedges leaves a lot to be desired offensively, but there's a reason the Guardians love him behind the plate.
Brayan Rocchio gives Guardians lead over Red Sox in the seventh
The Guardians have their first lead of the night. After loading the bases against the Boston bullpen, Brayan Rocchio drove a ball to deep left field, far enough to score Tyler Freeman from third.
The Guardians quickly went from dead quiet to holding a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Tyler Freeman ties Guardians-Red Sox game with RBI single
After 15 scoreless innings, the Guardians have finally gotten to Tanner Houck.
Houck threw a shutout last week in Boston and then breezed through the first six innings tonight.
In the seventh, finally, the Guardians broke through. Will Brennan doubled to open the inning and was followed by Tyler Freeman, who hit a single back up the middle to tie it 1-1.
Wilyer Abreu home run gives Red Sox the lead over Guardians
The scoreless tie has been broken.
Ben Lively, having a really strong outing, missed with a fastball that was piped right down the middle, and Wilyer Abreu crushed it for a solo home run to put the Red Sox up 1-0 in the top of the seventh inning.
Lively had been cruising, but Tanner Houck has answered him each step of the way. And now, the Guardians will need to find some offense.
Lively then gave up a single, and his day is done. But for a pitcher signed to a one-year deal near the league minimum, Lively has pitched well since coming off the injured list with an illness to open the season. His ERA stands at 2.38, though he's also responsible for the runner on first.
Scott Barlow is entering the game for the Guardians.
Tyler Freeman recovers to make a diving catch against Red Sox
Tyler Freeman has turned a couple of routine plays into highlight reel catches tonight.
Freeman, who is still getting his legs under him in center field, has taken a few poor routes to fly balls. The last was a shallow fly ball off the bat of Tyler O'Neill that Freeman misjudged at first, but still caught after diving to his right.
It wasn't the best, but he still caught it.
Guardians, Red Sox scoreless through four innings
So far, there have been three stars at the ballpark tonight.
- Guardians starting pitcher Ben Lively
- Red Sox starting pitcher Tanner Houck
- The adorable golden retriever that was shown on the scoreboard, as it's Bark in the Park night
Ben Lively scoreless through three innings as Guardians, Red Sox are deadlocked
Ben Lively is off to a nice start tonight.
He's allowed two hits and struck out three in three scoreless innings, and he's mostly breezed by the first time through the Red Sox lineup.
He's at only 40 pitches entering the fourth inning.
The Guardians, like they did last week in Boston, are having some trouble with Tanner Houck.
What time do the Guardians play tonight?
The Guardians and Red Sox play at 6:10 tonight in Cleveland.
Tonight's starting pitchers, Guardians vs. Red Sox: Ben Lively vs. Tanner Houck
It's a rematch of last week's pitching matchup in Boston when Tanner Houck pitched a gem to lead the Red Sox to a 2-0 win over the Guardians. Houck pitched a three-hitter in the first complete game of his career. Houck (3-1) struck out nine and didn't walk a batter. He threw 94 pitches, 69 for strikes.
Cleveland Guardians lineup vs. Boston Red Sox
- Steven Kwan, LF
- Andres Gimenez, 2B
- Jose Ramirez, 3B
- Josh Naylor, 1B
- Will Brennan, RF
- Tyler Freeman, CF
- Estevan Florial, DH
- Bo Naylor, C
- Brayan Rocchio, SS
Boston Red Sox lineup vs. Cleveland Guardians
- Ceddane Rafaela, SS
- Jarren Duran, CF
- Tyler O'Neil, DH
- Wilyer Abreu, LF
- Rob Refsnyder, RF
- Enmanuel Valdez, 2B
- Connor Wong, C
- Bobby Dalbec, 1B
- Pablo Reyes, 3B
Josh Naylor celebrations part of his 8-game hitting streak
HisGuardians teammatesmight need helmets and protective gear wheneverJosh Naylordoes something monumental, but as long he's destroying opposing pitching like this, they're fine with it. Read more about how Naylor is lifting up his team in two ways, as he takes an eight-game hitting streak into Tuesday. Naylor is 11-for-33 with three homers and eight RBIs during his hitting streak.
Next Guardians game
The Guardians and Red Sox continue their three-game series at 6:10 Wednesday night.
