After losing four of their last five games, the Guardians got back on track Saturday night against the Los Angeles Angels with a 7-1 win at Progressive Field.
Despite the recent skid, the Guardians still entered Saturday 20-12 and in first place in a more-competitive-than-expected American League Central. The Kansas City Royals (20-13), Minnesota Twins (18-13) and Detroit Tigers 18-14) all entered within two games of the Guardians. The Chicago White Sox , meanwhile, remain on pace to be one of the worst teams in major league history.
Josh Naylor was not in the starting lineup, as he's cooled off and is just 4-for-27 in the last week, and the Angels are stating a lefty tonight.
Here's how it all unfolded.
Playing the Angels without Mike Trout in the lineup is often going to be a positive for the opposing team, and this time the beneficiaries are the Guardians.
This was another positive outing for Ben Lively , which is another key takeaway from tonight. Lively allowed just one run on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts in six innings, lowering his ERA to 2.08. Shane Bieber and Gavin Williams being out created a potential issue for the Guardians' pitching depth, and Lively has given them a major boost so far by filling that spot nicely.
The Guardians have been waiting a bit for Bo Naylor to find his footing at the plate. A lot of their hopeful production just came around in one swing.
With the bases loaded and the Guardians holding into a 3-1 lead, Bo Naylor just launched a grand slam to right-center field for a no-doubter. It's his first career grand slam.
And the Guardians are now cruising with a 7-1 lead. But Naylor putting something together offensively would be the biggest long-term plus from this game.
The Guardians have now announced that Steven Kwan left tonight's game with left hamstring tightness.
More updates on his status could be available after the game.
Ramon Laureano has had a pretty slow start to the season, but he just connected on a solo home run to left field to give the Guardians a 3-0 lead.
With Hedges and Laureano providing the power tonight, the Guardians are producing runs from spots in the lineup that have been pretty barren lately.
No information has been provided by the team, but Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan has exited the game. Gabriel Arias jogged out to left field at the beginning of the fourth inning.
It's not clear, yet, what happened.
Austin Hedges was brought back to Cleveland for his offense, just like everybody said.
OK, nobody said that. But Hedges has undoubtedly made a positive impact on the clubhouse as a veteran, and he just put the Guardians on top 2-0 with a two-run home run to the Home Run Porch in left field.
That is just Hedges' second home run since the end of the 2022 season.
Below is some pregame information.
Today's game is on Bally Sports Great Lakes, starting at 6:10 p.m.
After opening the 2024 season on the injured list with an illness, Ben Lively has put together a tremendous opening to his year by posting a 2.30 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings entering Saturday's outing. The Guardians signed Lively to a one-year deal worth near the league minimum as rotational depth, but injuries to Shane Bieber (season-ending Tommy John surgery) and Gavin Williams (elbow) have pushed him into an every-fifth-game role.
Detmers is also off to a positive start this season, owning a 3.12 ERA in 34 2/3 innings entering Saturday.
Steven Kwan, LF
Brayan Rocchio , SS
Jose Ramirez , 2B
David Fry , 1B
Ramon Laureano, RF
Andres Gimenez, 2B
Tyler Freeman , CF
Bo Naylor, DH
Austin Hedges, C
Nolan Schanuel , 1B
Ehire Adrianza , 3B
Taylor Ward , LF
Willie Calhoun , DH
Brandon Drury , 2B
Logan O'Hoppe, C
Jo Adell , RF
Mickey Moniak , CF
Zach Neto , SS
The Guardians will next finish their series against the Los Angeles with a 1:40 p.m. first pitch Sunday before welcoming the Detroit Tigers for a three-game series beginning Monday.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians score win over Los Angeles Angels on 3 home runs
