Much deserved run support and 11 strike outs earns Big Rig a strong W.
It came down to today’s rubber match to determine who would take the series. After a disappointing loss last night, the Cleveland Guardians turned to Gavin Williams to bring home a W.
The Guardians lineup showed the signs of life we saw prior to the All-Star break. In the bottom of the first, Angel Martínez hit a lead off double to left and scored with a David Fry RBI single, also to left.
In the bottom of the second, the team tacked on another run. As everyone expected and predicted, Will Wilson hit a double to right and scored off a Austin Hedges RBI single to left.
In the bottom of the fourth Johnathan Rodríguez doubled to right. A single from Will Wilson (his second hit of the game!!) singled to left to put runners on the corners. Austin Hedges laid a beautiful bunt that was fielded spectacularly by the first baseman to get Rodríguez out at home.
Brayan Rocchio hit a one-out single to load the bases. David Fry, with two outs, hit a double to left that scored three runs. The Athletics’ recently converted left fielder struggled to cleanly field the ball, allowing more runs to score than should have.
Going into the seventh, Gavin Williams was pitching an absolute gem. It took until the top of the third for a baserunner to get on. Between Gavin striking out batters left and right and the defense making great plays, the Athletics didn’t even get into a scoring opportunity until the top of the fifth.
Two singles and a wild pitch allowed the A’s to score in the top of the fifth, but Gavin kept the damage to a minimum. In the top of the seventh, Gavin was hunting a strikeout to tie his career high of 12Ks, but wasn’t quite able to get there. However, a gold glove caliber play from José Ramírez turned the final out, preventing a late game base runner.
Gavin went 7.0 complete innings, earning a quality start. He only allowed 5 bases runners on 4 hits and 1 walk, giving up 1 R/ER. Gavin struck out eleven batters in his impressive start.
In the bottom of the seventh, Angel gave Gavin more run support with a lead off solo shot to right center.
Cade Smith came on in the top of the eighth. A lead off double by Denzel Clark and a two-out double by Nick Kurtz put another run on the board for the A’s before Cade struck out Brent Rooker for the final out.
The Guards offense kept rolling in the bottom of the eighth. Nolan Jones drew a lead off walk and Daniel Schneemann (PH for Rodríguez in the 6th) hit a single to left. Will Wilson laid down a sac bunt to third to advance both runners. Austin Hedges was hit by pitch to load the bases. Brayan Rocchio hit a sac fly to center to score a run and leave runners on the corners.
Angel Martínez continued his impressive day with a line drive to center to score Schneemann.
Jacob Junis was tapped to close out the game. He gave up a lead off double but got the next three out via groundout, strikeout, and flyout to close the books on the Athletics.
Angel ended his day going 3-for-5 with 2R, 2RBI, a homer and a double. With all of the offense from Cleveland, the only hitter to not reach base was José Ramírez.
This was a comfortable win with every batter stepping up on a day where José struggled at the plate. Games like this where others can shoulder the burden of scoring runs and result in a definitive win are always welcomed. This lineup didn’t look the most promising to start the game, but everyone stepped up when it mattered and continued their quiet dominance over the last 10 games.