by Cody Bellinger delivered a pair of go-ahead runs on a single in the top of the 10th inning after veteran reliever Shawn Armstrong allowed traffic on the basepaths. In the bottom of the frame, Angel Martinez walked to give Cleveland two on with nobody out, but New York closer David Bednar slammed the door shut on the Guardians and earned his second winning decision of the season.
With the loss, the Guardians drop to 37-31, still a pair of games ahead of the surging Chicago White Sox in the American League Central Division.
The Yankees struck first and early, with a two-run homer off the bat of Paul Goldschmidt, his eighth of the season.
Having to wait until the bottom of the third, Cleveland finally scored its first run of the night after the Yankees scored again at the top of the frame to make it a 3-0 ballgame. Steven Kwan crossed home plate on a wild pitch from Will Warren, who gave up just three runs on three hits in over four innings of work.
The other two runs Warren gave up also came in the third inning, as Cleveland used its trademark “Guardsball” to tie the game up. Bryan Rocchio grounded out and brought home a run in the form of Patrick Bailey, who doubled his way onto the bases.
A pair of singles from Jose Ramirez and Chase DeLuater continued the inning, and an error on a Kyle Manzardo fielder’s choice knotted the game up at three runs apiece.
Down 4-3 after a Ryan McMahon solo shot, the Guardians took the lead for the first time on Monday night on a two-run, 414-foot shot into right field by Martinez. Martinez is now tied with Ramirez, his veteran mentor, for the team lead in home runs with 10.
However, those two runs would be the last Cleveland scored all night.
After reliever Hunter Gaddis couldn’t find the strike zone, Goldschmidt tied the game at 5-5 with a fielder’s choice to second. Gaddis was given an extra chance to redeem himself, but gave up a single to Bellinger.
Shortstop Brayan Rocchio saved both the lead and Gaddis’s ERA when he snagged a screaming groundball off the bat of Jazz Chisholm Jr., stepping on second base before throwing to first for a web-gem double-play.
Unfortunately for Rocchio, the Guardians could not capitalize on his defensive prowess or with runners on the bases in the eighth and 10th innings, paving the way for the Yankees to open the series with a win.
Slated for a 6:40 p.m. start, tomorrow night’s contest will pit Slade Cecconi against Gerrit Cole. It will be the third consecutive primetime game for the Guardians, as Tuesday’s game will be streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
