Steven Kwan highlighted a two-run 10th inning with an RBI single Wednesday afternoon, sending the Cleveland Guardians to a 6-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics, the visitors’ second extra-inning win of the three-game series.
All three games in the set were nail-biters, with Oakland picking up a win Tuesday night on Tony Kemp’s walk-off single in the ninth.
After seeing a 4-0 lead disappear Wednesday, the Guardians put up multiple runs in the 10th.
Kwan’s bloop single to left field came after Cleveland had already gone up 5-4. Will Brennan’s RBI infield out scored extra-inning automatic runner Andres Gimenez, who had taken third on a wild pitch by Zach Jackson (0-1). Myles Straw, who had walked as the inning’s first batter, scored on Kwan’s single.
The A’s made it interesting in the bottom of the 10th after Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase walked leadoff man Esteury Ruiz to put the potential tying runs on base.
Kemp’s grounder to first advanced the runners into scoring position with just one out, but Clase locked down his second save by striking out Aledmys Diaz and getting Jesus Aguilar to line out to right field.
Eli Morgan (1-0), who worked a scoreless ninth, was credited with the win.
The game had begun as a pitchers’ duel between Guardians right-hander Hunter Gaddis and A’s lefty Kyle Muller.
Making his fourth major league start, Gaddis appeared headed for his first big-league win before Aguilar capped a four-run eighth with a three-run homer off Guardians reliever Tim Herrin. The homer was Aguilar’s first of the season.
Ryan Noda had opened the inning with his first major league home run, beginning Oakland’s rally from a 4-0 deficit.
Earlier, Cam Gallagher and Gimenez delivered two-out, two-run hits for the Guardians.
Gallagher’s hit, a double, opened the scoring in the sixth. It came on reliever Domingo Acevedo’s first pitch after assuming a two-on, two-out situation.
The runs were charged to Muller, who has yet to get a run of support in his first 10 2/3 innings. He allowed two runs and four hits while walking three and striking out five.
Gaddis allowed just one hit in six shutout innings. He walked two and struck out four.
Straw had two hits and scored twice for the Guardians, while Kwan finished with two hits and Gimenez a pair of runs.
Aguilar also had a double for the A’s, who were outhit 9-4.
–Field Level Media
