Oscar Gonzalez homered twice, Cal Quantrill was strong on the mound and the Cleveland Guardians extended their winning streak to six games with a 4-2 win over the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas.
Gonzalez hit a solo homer in the fifth inning before launching a no-doubter over the center field wall in the ninth, giving him 11 long balls on the season. It was Gonzalez’s second multi-homer game of the month.
Andres Gimenez gave the visitors a 2-1 lead in the top half of the seventh with a solo shot to right. Amed Rosario added a triple — his major-league-best ninth of the season — and a ground-rule RBI double that helped pad the Guardians’ lead in the eighth.
Quantrill (14-5) pitched six innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits and three walks against four strikeouts. After surrendering a third-inning solo home run to Marcus Semien, Quantrill settled in to win his 14th decision of the season.
Rangers right-hander Glenn Otto began his outing with four hitless innings before Gonzalez’s leadoff homer in the fifth. He went on to go 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on three hits and one walk alongside three punchouts.
Semien’s early home run was his 24th of the season. He also singled and walked for his seventh multi-hit effort over his last 12 contests.
Rookie Sam Huff also homered for the Rangers, a monster shot over the center field wall in the ninth inning. It was his third of the season after clubbing 21 at Triple-A Round Rock. Corey Seager chipped in a double in the first.
Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase made his third appearance in as many nights in the ninth, working around the Huff solo homer to earn his major-league-leading 39th save of the season.
The Guardians now sit 8 1/2 games clear of the second-place White Sox in the American League Central heading into Sunday’s action. Chicago was set to play the Detroit Tigers later Saturday night.
–Field Level Media