CLEVELAND (Interstat) — Angel Martínez homered twice and drove in four runs, Chase DeLauter hit a three-run homer and the Cleveland Guardians used a five-run first inning and a five-run third to defeat the Athletics 12-6 on Saturday night, Sept. 19, at Progressive Field. Cleveland finished with 15 hits and improved to 83-76. The Athletics had 12 hits and fell to 61-94. The game lasted 2:49 and was played before an announced attendance of 31,615.

The Athletics jumped on Cleveland starter Jacob Lopez in the top of the first. Henry Bolte lined out to right and Jeff McNeil popped out to first before Shea Langeliers singled to center. Lawrence Butler followed with a single to center that moved Langeliers to second. Zack Gelof then singled on a ground ball to left, and Langeliers scored when left fielder Angel Martínez made a fielding error. Donovan Walton followed with a single to right that scored Butler, giving the Athletics a 2-0 lead. Carlos Cortes grounded out to end the inning.

Cleveland responded in the bottom half. Steven Kwan singled on a sharp line drive to right, and José Ramírez singled to left to put runners on first and second. DeLauter then homered to center field, a three-run shot that put Cleveland ahead 3-2. Jo Adell singled sharply to left, and Angel Martínez followed with a two-run homer to center. David Fry popped out, Travis Bazzana grounded out and Austin Hedges struck out, but the Guardians led 5-2 after one.

The Athletics went down in order in the second. Brian Serven flied out, Alika Williams doubled to left, Henry Bolte grounded out to move Williams to third, and Jeff McNeil popped out to third. Cleveland also failed to score in the bottom of the second. Brayan Rocchio bunted into a groundout, Kwan flied out to center and Ramírez popped out to shortstop, keeping the score at 5-2.

The Athletics cut into the lead in the third. Langeliers singled to right, but Butler grounded into a forceout that erased Langeliers at second. Gelof grounded out to third, moving Butler to second, and Walton singled to left to score Butler. Carlos Cortes lined out to shortstop, leaving Cleveland ahead 5-3.

Cleveland broke the game open in the bottom of the third. DeLauter singled to left, and after Adell popped out, Angel Martínez doubled to right. David Fry then doubled sharply to left, scoring both DeLauter and Angel Martínez. Travis Bazzana flied out to center, moving Fry to third, and Austin Hedges doubled to left to score Fry. Brayan Rocchio followed with a double to left that scored Hedges, and Kwan singled to left to score Rocchio. Ramírez walked, but DeLauter grounded out to end the inning. Cleveland led 10-3.

The Athletics got one run back in the fourth. Serven struck out, Williams doubled to center and Bolte singled to center to score Williams. McNeil then grounded into a double play, with pitcher Tanner Bibee fielding the ball and starting a shortstop-to-first double play. In the bottom of the fourth, Adell struck out, but Angel Martínez homered to right field for his second home run of the game. David Fry grounded out to the pitcher, and Bazzana grounded out to first, giving Cleveland an 11-4 lead.

The Athletics answered in the fifth. Langeliers struck out, Butler grounded out to second, and Gelof singled to left. Walton then homered to right-center, scoring Gelof and bringing the Athletics within 11-6. Carlos Cortes doubled to left, but Serven grounded out to shortstop. Cleveland went down in order in the bottom of the fifth on groundouts by Hedges, Rocchio and Kwan.

Cleveland added its final run in the sixth. Ramírez singled sharply to right, but DeLauter struck out and Adell grounded out to third, moving Ramírez to second. Angel Martínez then singled to center, scoring Ramírez. David Fry struck out to end the inning. The Athletics threatened in the seventh when Langeliers walked, Butler walked, Gelof flied out, Tommy White flied out, Denzel Clarke walked to load the bases, but Serven grounded out to shortstop to end the threat.

Cleveland’s bullpen kept the Athletics off the scoreboard the rest of the way. In the bottom of the seventh, Bazzana flied out, Hedges lined out and Angel Genao struck out. The Athletics went quietly in the eighth on popouts by Williams and Bolte and a strikeout by McNeil. In the bottom of the eighth, Kwan flied out, Ramírez lined out, DeLauter reached on a fielding error by McNeil, Adell singled and Angel Martínez lined out sharply to center. In the ninth, Langeliers grounded out, Butler grounded out and Gelof struck out to end the game.

Slade Cecconi (5-7) earned the win for Cleveland with two innings of no-hit relief, striking out two. Jacob Lopez (6-5) took the loss for the Athletics. Drew Rom worked two innings for the Athletics, allowing one hit and no earned runs with one strikeout. Chris Roycroft pitched 2 1/3 innings, giving up two hits and one earned run with one walk and one strikeout. Geoff Hartlieb allowed two hits and one earned run in one inning while striking out two. Matt Festa threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings for Cleveland, Tim Herrin added a scoreless inning with two walks, and the Guardians’ bullpen held the lead.

Angel Martínez finished 4-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs. Walton went 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs for the Athletics. DeLauter was 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs. Alika Williams added two hits for the Athletics. The Athletics’ pitchers combined for 15 strikes, 54 balls and 15 balls in play. Cleveland’s pitchers combined for 8 strikes, 45 balls and 8 balls in play. Cleveland has won the first two games of the series after a 5-3 victory Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cleveland Guardians 6, Athletics 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Cleveland with a 65.6 percent probability to win. Cleveland had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The combined 18 runs exceeded the over/under line of 8.