David Fry cleared the bases with a fourth-inning double during a career-best four-RBI day, Gavin Williams struck out 11 in seven innings and the Cleveland Guardians completed a series win over the visiting Athletics with an 8-2 triumph Sunday afternoon.
Angel Martinez chipped in with a single, double and solo home run for the Guardians, who have won eight of 10 bridging the All-Star break.
Rookie Nick Kurtz doubled twice and drove in a run for the A’s, who won just twice in the six-game season series against Cleveland.
The Guardians jumped on A’s starter Jeffrey Springs (8-7) for single runs in the first two innings, getting RBI hits from Fry in the first and Austin Hedges in the second, before busting the game open at 5-0 in the fourth.
Fry’s three-run double, a grounder over third base, scored Johnathan Rodriguez, who had opened the inning with a double, as well as Will Wilson and Brayan Rocchio, both of whom had singled to load the bases with two outs.
Fry, who had just seven RBIs in his first 32 games this season, had never previously driven in more than three runs in a game in his career.
Springs was pulled after four innings, charged with five runs on nine hits. He struck out four without issuing a walk.
Martinez’s homer, his ninth of the season, came in the seventh after the A’s had scored in the fifth on a Williams wild pitch.
Williams (6-4) limited the A’s to one run and four hits in his seven innings. He walked just one amid his 11 strikeouts, which were one fewer than his career high set in August 2023 against Toronto.
Rocchio had a sacrifice fly and Martinez a run-scoring single, giving him two RBIs, in the eighth to complete Cleveland’s scoring. In the three-game set, the winning team scored eight runs on all three days.
Wilson, who had two hits, joined Martinez with two runs apiece for the Guardians, who out-hit the visitors 12-7 in a game that featured eight doubles — four by each team — and Martinez’s homer.
Max Schuemann joined Kurtz with two hits for the A’s, who had won consecutive series over Atlanta and Toronto going into the break.
–Field Level Media
