Shane Bieber pitched seven strong innings, Oscar Gonzalez had a two-run double and the Cleveland Guardians downed the host Detroit Tigers 5-2 on Tuesday.
Bieber (7-6) gave up just four singles and a walk while striking out eight. Amed Rosario supplied three hits, including two doubles, while scoring a run and driving in another as the Guardians won their third straight.
Emmanuel Clase got the last out for his 25th save. Steven Kwan reached base twice and scored two runs for Cleveland.
Detroit starter Tyler Alexander (2-6) gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings. He had two strikeouts and didn’t issue a walk.
The Tigers barely averted getting shut out for the second consecutive game, as they scored on Eric Haase’s two-out, bases-loaded walk in the ninth and a wild pitch. Riley Greene led their offense with two hits.
Bieber was in cruise control from the start, striking out the first two batters he faced, Greene and Javier Baez. Bieber also recorded a pair of strikeouts in both the third and fourth innings.
Cleveland broke through in the fifth inning. Owen Miller reached on a one-out bloop single and advanced to third on Andres Gimenez’s single. Austin Hedges brought home Miller with a sacrifice fly to left.
The Guardians made it 2-0 in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Kwan and Rosario. Later in the inning, they had runners on the corners with one out, but Josh Naylor bounced into a double play.
The Tigers had two runners on with no outs in the seventh. Bieber then struck out Willi Castro and retired Jonathan Schoop on a foul pop. Tucker Barnhart grounded out to end the threat.
Cleveland scored three runs off Will Vest in the eighth. Kwan drew a one-out walk and Rosario followed with a single. Gonzalez delivered his two-out, two-run double before scoring on Naylor’s single.
The Tigers loaded the bases in the ninth with no outs on two singles and a walk issued by Eli Morgan. After retiring the next two batters, Morgan walked Haase. A Clase wild pitch gave Detroit another run before Akil Baddoo grounded out.
–Field Level Media
