Last night the Cleveland Guardians took on the Detroit Tigers in the last game of a four-game series. The Cleveland Guardians have a current record of 63-55 and hold the first seed in the American League Central Division as they have a one-game lead over the Minnesota Twins.
During the Guardians’ final game with the Tigers for that series, they were down by a pair of runs slates in the eighth inning. Cleveland then went on to score six runs with two outs and was able to steal a win away from a division rival with a final score of 8-4.
What started this amazing rally?
“Luke Maile sparked the comeback when he reached first base on a dropped third strike by Detroit catcher Eric Haase. Maile swung and missed at a slider in the dirt from lefty Andrew Chafin and the ball got away from Haase as Maile sprinted to first. Myles Straw singled up the middle and the rally was on.” according to Cleveland.com.
After going 0-11 with runners in scoring position and struggling all night Cleveland finally flipped the switch and then went 5-5 in the eighth inning. The Guardians were led by the rookie of the year candidate Steven Kwan as well as the rest of the top of Manager Terry Francona’s line-up.
Kwan’s RBI ground-rule double cut the Tigers’ lead to one and then Cleveland Shortstop Amed Rosario tied the game at 4-4 with a legged-out infield hit as Myles Straw crossed the plate. Soon after the big bat of Jose Ramirez came to the plate and blooped a double that dropped in front of the left fielder and rolled up the line. That would be the 11th go-ahead RBI in the eighth inning or later for Jose Ramirez as two runs would score on the play.
Terry Francona speaks on his team’s great win
After the game manager Terry Francona said that his team never gives up and he also talked about how he preached to them to never give up until the last out of the game is called. This is a great win for this team and they now solidify a little more of a lead as they are the youngest team in baseball and they are in first place in the AL Central. This was a great way for this team to bounce back after a tough loss the other night and it really shows this team’s drive and willingness to do whatever it takes to win.
Image Credits: Flickr.com.