All-Star Andrés Giménez secured a 4-1 victory for the Cleveland Guardians against the Detroit Tigers after hitting a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning.
This marks his 13th home run of the season and places the Guardians at an 8-1 record. The team is currently at a season-high nine games over .500. The Guardians managed to hold the Tigers without a hit after the third inning, improving their lead in the division by three games over Minnesota.
“I just tried to stay focused and get a good pitch to hit. I recognized the slider soon enough,” said Giménez.
Cleveland Guardians manager, Terry Francona, discussed the reasons behind the team’s success. He noted that players from all sides pitched very well and multiple hits were good “but didn’t leave the ballpark because of the wind.”
The Tigers are currently struggling for the season with eight losses in a row. The team is currently the season-worst at 31 games below .500. The team has been experiencing tumultuous times recently after parting ways with their general manager, Al Avila. Sam Menzin is currently serving as an interim general manager.
Game recap
The game started off well for the Tigers. The team managed to earn the first score after Riley Greene led off with a single and Harold Castro scored on a grounder. José Ramírez managed to score a point for the Guardians, evening the score in the fifth with a single that let Myles Straw get his 94th RBI.
Aaron Civale of the Guardians also managed to strike out 10 batters over six innings in his second start, a season record for the player. He then went on to retire 17 of the 19 batters on the Tigers’ side, allowing only one run on three hits.
“If the starters keep the game close, there is no thought about not winning the game. And it’s been like that for a while,” Civale said.
On the Tigers side, Miguel Cabrera struck out three times, going zero for four. This puts his career stats at 3,076 hits, 506 homers, and 1,841 RBI. Meanwhile, Drew Hutchinson worked 5 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits and a run during his fourth start against the Guardians. He has thrown 101 pitches so far, Hutchinson’s best since 2015.
A.J. Hinch, manager for the Tigers, expressed his praise for the Guardians’ offensive strategy.
“Cleveland is an elite contact team with speed, which is what makes them dangerous. It’s their one-through-nine presence, as opposed to first-to-third plays. They have more singles than most teams, so you know they’re going to use their speed,” Hinch said.
Returnees and upcoming players
Though the Tigers are currently facing difficulties, Austin Meadows will be available to play back-to-back games for the Triple-A Toledo. The player managed to bat at .188 in his first four games against the Toledo Mud Hens but was unable to play until recently since he tested positive for COVID-19 on June 17.
The Guardians, meanwhile, will have Xzavion Curry making his major league debut as a pitcher after being recalled from Triple-A Columbus. The rising star went 8 – 4 with a 3.48 ERA in 19 games for the Columbus Clippers and the Akron RubberDucks, making fans hopeful about his future talent.