Facing the possibility of matching a season-long three-game losing streak, the Cleveland Guardians put on a majestic performance to diffuse that prospect.
After returning to form with an 8-0 win on Saturday, the Guardians look to win the series against the Marlins when the two teams close a three-game set at Miami on Sunday.
Cleveland was red-hot while winning 16 of 20 games before falling 4-3 to the visiting Kansas City Royals on Thursday.
Then the Marlins won Friday’s series opener 3-2. But Saturday was a different story as Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez homered and three Cleveland pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout.
Cleveland put the game away with a six-run fifth inning. Kwan hit a two-run homer early in the frame to provide a spark.
Not known for his power, Kwan fouled off a full-count fastball from Miami’s Roddery Munoz to stay alive. Kwan then smacked the next heater over the wall in right to make it 4-0. It was his fourth blast of the season.
“Two strikes, try to spoil the pitch and try to see another one,” Kwan said afterward.
Kwan reached base four times on two hits and two walks while scoring twice for the Guardians. He is 9-for-18 with eight runs in five games since returning from a hamstring injury.
“You can’t say enough about what he means for us in the leadoff spot,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said of Kwan.
The homer by Ramirez was his 18th of the season. He leads the majors with 61 RBIs.
Miami had just four hits on Saturday with one of them coming courtesy of Josh Bell’s hot bat.
Bell’s single increased his hitting streak to 10 games. He is 17-for-40 (.425) with a trio of three-hit games while raising his average 33 points to .256 during the streak.
Bell’s recent rise in production certainly pleases the Marlins, who are 20 games under .500 and known to be shopping their veteran players. Bell turns 32 in August and is aware of what rebuilding teams do prior to the trade deadline.
“I’ve been part of trade talks pretty much every year from 2020 on,” said Bell, who is with his fifth team. “That’s part of the game. It wasn’t the case when I first came into the league and the team had control over me for a long period of time.
“Once you get to arbitration, if your team’s not playing well, it just makes sense to trade guys and try to shoot for the future. I try not to play GM. I’ll let someone else do that and I’ll just play baseball.”
Cleveland right-hander Carlos Carrasco (2-5, 5.66 ERA) will look to end a three-start losing streak on Sunday.
Carrasco, 37, has allowed 12 runs (10 earned) and served up three homers in 16 innings during the stretch.
He missed 2 1/2 weeks between the second and third outings of the span due to a neck injury. He returned to lose to the Washington Nationals on June 2 when he gave up five runs and seven hits over four innings.
Carrasco is 5-2 with a 3.34 ERA in 11 career outings against the Marlins. Bell is 6-for-16 against Carrasco and Bryan De La Cruz is 5-for-17 with two homers.
Left-hander Trevor Rogers (1-7, 5.68) will take the ball for the Marlins. He will be making his first career start against the Guardians.
Rogers lost to the Texas Rangers last Sunday when he gave up four runs and six hits over six innings. He is winless over his last three starts.
–Field Level Media
