Cleveland Guardians hit six homers, rout Reds 10‑3
CLEVELAND (Interstat) — Kyle Manzardo homered twice, rookie Chase DeLauter, Angel Martinez and José Ramírez each belted a two-run shot, and the Cleveland Guardians connected a season-high six times in a 10-3 blowout of the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field.
Manzardo had a two-run homer in the third inning and a solo shot in the fifth. Brayan Rocchio also homered as the Guardians were free swinging on the warmest day at Progressive Field this season. It was the first time they have hit six homers at home since April 30, 2013.
The victory gave Cleveland a series win over its in-state rival, improving its record to 26-22. Cincinnati dropped to 24-23 after losing two of three in the weekend series.
Gavin Williams earned the win for Cleveland, allowing two earned runs on eight hits over six innings with seven strikeouts. He improved to 6-3 on the season. Brady Singer took the loss for Cincinnati, falling to 2-4 after surrendering five earned runs on seven hits in four innings.
The Reds struck first with a solo home run by Elly De La Cruz in the third inning, tying the game at 2-2 after Cleveland had taken a 2-0 lead in the first on DeLauter’s two-run homer. But Cleveland answered immediately in the bottom of the third when Manzardo launched a two-run homer to right field, putting the Guardians ahead to stay at 4-2.
Manzardo’s blast proved to be the decisive blow, breaking the tie and giving Cleveland a lead it never relinquished. He finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs.
Cleveland added to its lead in the fourth when Rocchio hit a solo homer to right-center field, making it 5-2. Manzardo struck again in the fifth with his second homer of the game, a solo shot that extended the lead to 6-2.
The Guardians broke the game open in the seventh. After Steven Kwan walked, Martinez crushed a two-run homer to right field, giving Cleveland an 8-2 cushion.
In the eighth, Ramírez delivered the final blow, a two-run homer to center field that scored Rocchio, who had been hit by a pitch. The blast made it 10-2.
Cincinnati managed a run in the ninth when Dane Myers singled home Blake Dunn, who had reached on a single earlier in the inning. But the Guardians bullpen closed the door, with Codi Heuer allowing only that one run over two innings and Tim Herrin striking out the side in the ninth.
The Reds collected 11 hits, but they struggled to score against Williams and the Cleveland bullpen. Cincinnati went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. The Guardians, meanwhile, had 12 hits and went 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
De La Cruz finished 2-for-5 with a home run and an RBI for Cincinnati. Nathaniel Lowe went 2-for-4 with an RBI double. Spencer Steer had two hits and scored a run.
For Cleveland, DeLauter went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. Rocchio was 2-for-3 with a homer and an RBI. Martinez went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, and Ramírez went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk.
The game lasted 2 hours, 27 minutes before a crowd of 27,388.
Cleveland now travels to Detroit for a four-game series beginning Monday. Cincinnati heads to Philadelphia for a three-game set.
Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cleveland 5, Cincinnati 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Cleveland a 57.40 percent probability to win. Cleveland was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 13 went under the over-under line of 8.5.