09/18/26 08:49:00
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09/18 20:48 CDT Jos Ramrez homers, reaches 1,000 RBIs as Guardians down A's
5-3 to stay atop AL Central
Jos Ramrez homers, reaches 1,000 RBIs as Guardians down A's 5-3 to stay atop
AL Central
By TOM WITHERS
Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) --- Jos Ramrez and rookie Travis Bazzana homered and Joey
Cantillo pitched six scoreless innings as the Cleveland Guardians rallied to
beat the Athletics 5-3 on Friday night and stay atop the AL Central.
Ramrez connected in the sixth inning to give the Guardians a two-run cushion.
His 12th homer was also the seven-time All-Star's 1,000th RBI, making him just
the second Cleveland player to reach the plateau. Earl Averill drove in 1,084
runs.
Bazzana snapped a 3-3 tie in the fifth as the Guardians came back after falling
behind 3-0 in the first.
Cleveland, 18-9 since Aug. 20, came in tied with Chicago for first in the
division. The White Sox hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Cantillo (10-9) allowed two hits in six innings after replacing opener Daniel
Espino. Cantillo has not given up a run in 10 innings over his past two outings.
Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith finished off the combined three-hitter. Smith
worked the ninth for his 38th save.
Zack Gelof hit a three-run homer for the A's, who are 0-4 on their final road
trip of 2026.
Bazzana put Cleveland ahead 4-3 in the fifth with his 15th homer, a 411-foot
leadoff drive to center off Scott Blewett (2-1).
The Guardians had squandered early scoring chances, loading the bases in the
first two innings but failing to push a run across.
Cleveland finally strung some hits together in the fourth, scoring three times
off starter Mason Barnett to tie it.
Rocchio, who leads all MLB No. 9 hitters in RBI with 50, delivered a two-run
double and scored on Ramrez's two-out single.
Espino opened for Cleveland and started poorly.
The right-hander walked three in the first and allowed the three-run homer to
Gelof, his 19th.
Up Next
LHP Jacob Lopez (6-4, 5.02 ERA) starts Saturday for Oakland against Tanner
Bibee (6-15, 4.16), who has gotten minimal support (3.05 runs per game) this
season.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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