The Cleveland Guardians had lost the first three games of their home series against the Kansas City Royals from Monday to Tuesday.
Tuesday’s loss meant the Royals caught them at the top of the division after being ten games behind in late June.
Cleveland, battered and humiliated, showed character and determination and earned a win in the series finale against the Royals.
They were down 5-2 in the score in the seventh inning, but a four-run rally in that frame and an additional run in the eighth gave them the 7-5 victory.
Back in the win column 😎😎 pic.twitter.com/n7PrzvcGRw
— Cleveland Guardians On SI (@GuardiansOnSI) August 28, 2024
Cleveland is now back up in the AL Central, with a one-game cushion over their counterparts.
It wasn’t Tanner Bibee’s sharpest afternoon, as he conceded five runs in five innings with three home runs allowed.
However, in contrast to what happened in the other games of the series, the Guardians’ offense showed up on Wednesday and took over the game in the seventh.
Down three runs, Josh Naylor homered on the first pitch he saw in that frame.
Consecutive singles by Steven Kwan and Andres Gimenez put two men on.
Bo Naylor, Will Brennan, and Jhonkensy Noel came up huge with RBI singles in the inning, flipping the score in Cleveland’s favor.
The bullpen, which had been a tad inconsistent recently, also showed up with Tim Herrin, Eli Morgan, Hunter Gaddis, and Emmanuel Clase bailing out Bibee and contributing four scoreless innings.
The race for the AL Central also includes the Minnesota Twins, and likely won’t be decided until the very last stages of the regular season.
NEXT: Guardians Prospect Keeps Mashing In Triple-A While Others Struggle In Cleveland
