Shane Bieber allowed two runs over seven innings and Josh Naylor hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to lift the host Cleveland Guardians to a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees on Monday.
The Guardians mustered just four hits — three by Mike Zunino and one by Myles Straw — but drew nine walks, while Bieber shut down the Yankees after giving up a pair of first-inning runs.
Bieber (1-0) allowed five hits to go along with four strikeouts and three walks before being relieved by James Karinchak to start the eighth.
Karinchak gave up a triple to Gleyber Torres, but he got Aaron Judge to pop out before striking out Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton to escape the inning unscathed.
Emmanuel Clase pitched a perfect ninth for his third save of the season.
Torres went 2-for-3 with a run and a walk for New York, but no other Yankee had more than one hit.
With the game tied 2-2 in the seventh, Steven Kwan led off with a walk before stealing second. Amed Rosario walked before being forced out at second on Jose Ramirez’s groundout. But Naylor followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score Kwan.
Yankees starter Domingo German lasted just three innings, allowing a run on two hits to go along with five walks and no strikeouts.
Reliever Ian Hamilton (0-1), who gave up the decisive run in the seventh, allowed a hit with three strikeouts and three walks over two innings.
The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in their first-at bat. After Torres doubled to left on the first pitch of the game and Judge walked, Rizzo’s single loaded the bases before Stanton’s double to center scored Torres and Judge.
The Guardians halved the deficit in the second inning on Will Brennan’s sacrifice fly to left that scored Andres Gimenez, who had reached on an error before stealing second and taking third on Josh Bell’s groundout to first.
Cleveland tied the game in the fourth on Zunino’s double to left that scored Bell, who had led off with a walk and advanced to second on Brennan’s walk.
–Field Level Media