The Cleveland Guardians had to score 10 runs to earn a hard-fought victory on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The final score, 10-8, tells you how close the game was and how much the Guardians had to do to fend off the pesky Bucs.
The win, combined with the Kansas City Royals’ defeat at the hands of the Houston Astros, gives Cleveland a cool 2.5 wins-cushion at the top of the AL Central.
Closer Emmanuel Clase secured the victory with his 40th save.
He surrendered a rare home run to Andrew McCutchen, but that was the extent of the damage.
With the save, he reached 150 as a Guardians and took sole possession of first place in franchise history.
He leapfrogged Cody Allen and is now the king of the stat in Cleveland at just 26 years old.
Emmanuel Clase is now the @CleGuardians all-time saves leader, passing Cody Allen 👏 pic.twitter.com/Mkvv2M2BMm
— MLB (@MLB) August 31, 2024
The game was absolutely thrilling and featured multiple lead changes.
The Guards were up 4-0 after the fourth frame, but the Pirates put together a six-spot in the fifth.
A couple of two-run home runs in the bottom of that frame, courtesy of Jhonkensy Noel and Andres Gimenez, helped restored the lead for Cleveland.
After that, Pittsburgh couldn’t take command again.
It wasn’t Ben Lively’s finest night, as he conceded six earned runs in 4.1 frames.
Thankfully for Cleveland, the offense showed up big-time for this one.
Now, they have a bit more breathing run after being caught by the Royals at the top of the standings a few days ago.
The two squads will play the second of their series on Saturday, starting at 6:10 pm ET.
NEXT: Guardians Pitcher Will Return From The Injured List To Start This Weekend
