DENVER (AP) – Jose Ramirez received four more shots, Stephen Kwan made a great catch in the seventh inning …
DENVER (AP) – Jose Ramirez received four more shots, Stephen Kwan made a great catch in the seventh inning to retain the lead, and the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Colorado Rockies 7-5 on Wednesday night, winning 12th in 15 games.
Josh Naylor gave a double in the fifth, and Amed Rosario added four shots, including his first home run, when Cleveland (31-27) for the first time this season moved four games above 0.500.
Kwan hit Oscar Mercado in the fifth inning after Mercado dropped the ball, allowing him to score. With the Guardians holding ahead 6-5 with runners at the corners and two outs, Kwan pushed right onto Jose Iglesias ’liner and made a fully extended, diving grip on the warning track.
“I thought he had no chance of catching that,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. “I think, well, he’ll get off his feet and this guy will kill first. He wanted to catch that ball. It was a great show. “
Kwan added, “I need every inch of me and a glove.”
Brian Shaw (3-0) scored the eighth, and Emanuel Class made the ninth, making the 13th save.
Charlie Blackman received two hits that night when he reached 10 years of experience in the major leagues, and Jonathan Daza doubled up, distinguished himself and drove beyond the Rockies.
“We just couldn’t get a big hit when we needed it,” manager Bad Black said.
Ramirez entered the night with the top 62 IRBs in the major leagues. Although he didn’t add to that total, his double in the third inning gave him 39 extra base strokes, making it the highest in the franchise’s history for the first 58 games of the season. Ramirez has 14 of 29 in his last seven games, which has raised his average to 0.307.
Conor Pilkington held just 4 1/3 innings for the Guardians, giving up four runs – two earned – and six strikes. He suffered from poor protection, including his own.
Pilkington wildly threw first in the second, allowing a goal to be scored. Mercade released a regular swing that would be the last in the third, leading Colorado 4-2.
“We have to play baseball to win, so we were very lucky,” Francona said.
This is because the Rockies were not much better in this area. After a double overturning in the fifth bench Elias Diaz threw the ball into the left field to make a raid when Cleveland rallied and put it ahead 5-4. This gave the Rockies 52 errors in the MLB and they made at least one in a record 12 home games in a row.
Ramirez determined in sixth place from Chad Smith for his fourth strike. Luke Mail, who walked, moved on to third place and then scored on Smith’s wild field and made the score 6-4.
Rosario extended his streak to nine games in the third when he pulled out Austin Gomber’s change to go into his first Homer since September to make it a 2-all.
Gomber (3-7) allowed five runs and nine strokes in 4 2/3 innings.
“There are some imminent losses that hurt more than others,” Gomber said, “for example, today, when I prefer.”
Coaching room
Guardians: Asked about Naylor’s awkward slide on Tuesday, Francona said he was sometimes still cautious after Naylor’s horrific injury a year ago. “I was trying to remind him that he has gone through where he is, he should be happy,” Francona said. … Franmil Reyes (hamstring), who was due to become DH on Thursday for Triple-A Columbus, could instead play on the far field. “We don’t want to hold him back,” Francona said. … RHP Aaron Sivale (buttocks) allowed one unearned run and two strokes with one move and seven outings for 4 2/3 innings for Columbus.
Rocky Mountains: Black is looking for a new man after announcing that RHP Tyler Kinley is likely to miss the rest of the season due to a ruptured elbow flexor. “I think he was potentially on that path (for the All-Star Game),” Black said.
Avalanche SUPERVENTAL
The loudest shouts were heard during the change of serve in the seventh inning, when the Rockies showed a goal in overtime “Colorado Avalanche” on the video board, which gave them a 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay in the first game of the Stanley Cup final. The game was played about a mile away at the Ball Arena.
Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland, a native of Denver, is the biggest fan of the Avs team. His locker was decorated with a Cale Makar sweater and an All Hail Cale T-shirt.
“I’m going to (the club) to check on how they’re doing,” Freeland said before the game.
NEXT
The Guardians complete their first series on Coors Field since 2017 on Thursday when RHP Tristan Mackenzie (3-5, 3.09 ERA) faces RHP Rockies Chad Kulu (4-3, 3.70).
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