The Cleveland Guardians showed the world what they are made of by emphatically beating the second-best team in the American League, the Baltimore Orioles, 10-3 on their series opener on Thursday.
“UPDATES: David Fry and José Ramírez homer, Guardians blast Orioles 10-3 in series opener between AL leaders,” Tom Withers tweeted.
UPDATES: David Fry and José Ramírez homer, Guardians blast Orioles 10-3 in series opener between AL leaders (from @AP) https://t.co/XwkQEFb01d
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) August 2, 2024
With the win, the Guardians kept their AL Central lead in a whopping six games over the Kansas City Royals and 6.5 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins.
It was Cleveland’s four straight victory, and any talks of the team being in a rut are in the past now.
At 66-42, the Guards currently boast the best record in MLB and keep silencing their doubters with incredibly steady performances.
This time, it was Ben Lively the one who answered the call and gave the team a quality start.
He stayed on the mound for six innings in which he conceded just a couple of runs and struck out four.
The offense, on the other hand, jumped on Trevor Rogers early and often and chased him from the game after 4.1 frames of five runs allowed.
Jose Ramirez hit his 28th home run while fellow All-Star David Fry logged his ninth.
Catcher Bo Naylor, who has been surging in recent games, hit his eighth round-tripper, and recent trade acquisition Lane Thomas doubled twice from the second spot in the lineup.
The two squads will continue their exciting series from Friday through Sunday.
The matchup is very important for postseason seeding purposes, and each Guardians win puts them closer to where they want to be.
On Friday, right-hander Carlos Carrasco will take the ball for Cleveland, while Dean Kremer will do the same for Baltimore.
NEXT: Guardians Ace Experiencing Shoulder Tightness
