A great outing from LTA and a hitting palooza give the Guards a solid win.
The Cleveland Guardians, coming off a very difficult day, were looking to shake off the negativity and rally together for a victory.
The Guards struck first and struck early. In the bottom of the first, Steven Kwan drew a lead off walk and Daniel Schneemann hit a single to center. Kwan had a good jump on the single and made it to third. With two outs, Schneemann stole second base putting both base runners in scoring position. Gabriel Arias singled to left, scoring both Kwan and Schneemann.
In the bottom of the second David Fry singled to right then advanced to 2nd on a balk. Fry absolutely hustled to score from 2nd on a single off the bat of Brayan Rocchio. The left fielder misplayed the ball, giving Fry the perfect amount of time to score.
Logan Allen got into his first brush with trouble in the top of the third. After two quick outs, former Guard Tyler Freeman singled to right fielder Nolan Jones. Freeman showed his speed too, reaching third on a single to right. With a runner in scoring position, a forceout retired the side, keeping the Rockies scoreless.
The Guards kept on tacking on the runs in the third inning. Kyle Manzardo launched a home run to center, scoring José Ramírez who reached on a lead-off single.
With one out, Nolan Jones hit a double to right. On a pickoff error, Jones made his way to third. Bo Naylor drew a walk, meaning every Cleveland hitter reached base before the end of the third. Kwan and Bo via walk, everyone else via a hit. With runners on the corners, Brayan Rocchio hit a long fly ball, making Freeman work harder in right field, for a two out, two RBI triple.
The Rockies finally answered back with a lead off solo homer in the top of the fourth. Then the next three batters were retired in succession.
In the bottom of the fourth, José and Manzardo got on base with back-to-back one-out singles. Gabriel Arias drew a walk to load the bases for Nolan Jones. NoJo hit a single to right to score José.
A double play ended the fourth, but certainly didn’t end the momentum. In the bottom of the fifth Bo Naylor hit a lead off double. Steven Kwan hit a one-out single to right to score Bo. The hits from Bo and Kwan were what the Guards needed to record a hit for every starter in the lineup.
In the bottom of the sixth Kyle Manzardo decided the Guards needed additional run support. Kyle hit a lead-off homer to center field.
Gabriel Arias grounded out in one of the more unique 3-1 plays.
Nolan Jones was hit by pitch in his elbow during his at bat and was replaced in the top of the seventh.
Logan Allen had one heck of a game. He ended his night throwing 113 pitches in 7.0IP, 8H, 2R/ER, 1BB, with 3 strikeouts. He allowed another solo HR in the top of the seventh, but reached deep and got Tyler Freeman to ground into a double play to retire the side.
It took until the seventh inning for the Guards to reach an inning without scoring. Daniel Schneemann made it on base with a double.
Matt Festa came on in the eighth and gave up a run. With two outs and a runner on, Warming Bernabel smacked the ball to left for an RBI double. In the bottom of the eighth, Kyle Manzardo walked.
Tim Herrin finished off the game. He too allowed a solo homer but sent the next three down to book it.
The Guards and Rockies will face off for the rubber match tomorrow. The starting pitcher for the Guards is still TBD for the 6:40PM first pitch.