MLB

Oakland Athletics at Cleveland Guardians

· Major League Baseball
Oakland Athletics
19-57, 10-28 Away
Final
6 - 7
Cleveland Guardians
35-38, 18-17 Home

Naylor scores the go-ahead run in the 8th inning, the Guardians beat the Athletics 7-6

His battery-mate wound up stealing the spotlight.

Rookie catcher Bo Naylor singled for his first big-league hit, then scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning on a throwing error in Cleveland's 7-6 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night.

Naylor snapped an 0-for-19 drought with a sharp single off Austin Pruitt (1-5) and came home on Steven Kwan’s one-out double. Myles Straw was the first to score on Kwan’s hit, which turned into a two-run play when right fielder by Ramón Laureano wildly flung the ball back to the infield.

“Getting my first hit at a very intense time in the game is something I’ll never forget,” Naylor said, smiling broadly. “It was a big weight lifted off my shoulders. That was my moment, I guess.”

When Naylor ran into the dugout after scoring, his older brother, Josh, was waiting for him. The elder Naylor, by two years, went 4 for 4 with a home run, two RBI and a giant bear hug for Bo.

“It was great to embrace him after I scored,” Bo Naylor said. “I felt really special because he’s such an amazing brother.”

Until Naylor’s late heroics, right-hander Williams was the main attraction. Cleveland’s first-round pick in 2021 out of East Carolina worked 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on four hits — all in the third — and struck out four.

The right-hander maxed out at 98 mph, topping 96 on 18 of his 84 pitches, and did not surrender a hit in five of the six innings that he was on the mound.

“It helped an unbelievable amount having Bo out there, I mean, he knows me,” Williams said. “He knows how my pitches move and everything, so it was awesome. I wish I could have been out there in the eighth, but it was amazing seeing it on TV in the clubhouse.”

The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Williams went 9-6 with a 2.10 ERA in 37 minor league starts between Single-A Lake County, Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. He was 3-2 with a 2.93 ERA in nine starts this season with Columbus.

Eli Morgan (3-1) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win and Emmanuel Clase finished for his MLB-leading 22nd save. Cleveland won its third straight and is a game behind first-place Minnesota in the AL Central.

“The whole night was encouraging,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “There’s a lot to talk about and I thought Gavin did a really good job varying his times to the plate. I asked him when he came out, ‘Do you have a heartbeat?’ He goes, ‘Oh, yeah,’ so for him to control what he controlled was good.”

The Athletics, who have the lowest batting average and highest ERA in the majors, lost their seventh in a row and have the worst record in baseball at 19-57. Ryan Noda hit a three-run homer as part of a four-run third inning that opened the scoring.

Oakland had taken a 6-4 lead in the seventh on run-scoring singles from rookie Esteury Ruiz and Seth Brown off Trevor Stephan. Ruiz went 3 for 5 with two RBI and stole two bases to increase his MLB-best total to 39.

“The offense got us the lead and unfortunately, we were unable to hold onto it,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “Tito (Francona) fights and his team plays the game the same way, fighting for everything they get.”

Cleveland cut it 4-3 in the bottom half when Bo Naylor, Steven Kwan and Amed Rosario reached to open the third and came around. Rosario and Andrés Giménez each drove in runs, while a fielding error by Laureano allowed Kwan to score.

Josh Naylor’s solo homer pulled the Guardians within 6-5 in the seventh.

REALITY CHECK

The Guardians’ top three pitching prospects have made their big league debuts this season in Williams, RHP Tanner Bibee and LHP Logan Allen. With 2020 AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber in the final year of his contract and likely to be traded, the rookies’ development is paramount.

“For us to remain competitive, we need to produce these pitchers because that’s the one thing we probably can’t go out and get,” Francona said. “You see what they get on the (free agent) market, so we’ve got to stay in our lane and develop starting pitching.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: RHP Zach Jackson (right flexor strain) was transferred to the 60-day injured list in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for RHP Angel Felipe, who was claimed off waivers from San Diego. Kotsay said Jackson has not suffered a setback.

Guardians: OF Will Brennan (left shoulder soreness) exited in the fifth inning, shortly after landing hard on his left side while making a diving catch on a liner by Jace Peterson. Brennan was in obvious pain after getting up from the grass.

UP NEXT

Athletics LHP JP Sears (1-4, 4.24 ERA) takes on Guardians LHP Logan Allen (3-2, 3.95 ERA) in the series finale Thursday.

How can I watch Oakland Athletics vs. Cleveland Guardians?
  • TV Channel: Athletics at Guardians 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.tv.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Guardians: 61.5%
Athletics: 38.5%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Brown flied out to center.
9th Inning Noda struck out swinging, Ruiz stole second.
9th Inning Ruiz reached on infield single to shortstop, Kemp to third.
9th Inning Díaz strikes out on automatic strike.
9th Inning Kemp walked.
9th Inning Clase relieved Morgan

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/oak.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originOAK https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/cle.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCLE
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 1
7 Ground Balls 13
7 Strikeouts 10
6 Runs Batted In 5
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
9 Hits 13
2 Stolen Bases 0
4 Walks 1
0 Catcher Interference 0
6 Runs 7
0 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 1
35 At Bats 35
1 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
12 Runners Left On Base 15
0 Triples 1
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
1 Doubles 1
21 Fly Balls 13
0 Caught Stealing 0
135 Pitches 144
0 Games Started 0
1 Pinch At Bats 1
1 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
1 Is Qualified In Steals 0
13 Total Bases 19
39 Plate Appearances 38
162.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
2 Extra Base Hits 3
5.0 Runs Created 7.3
.257 Batting Average .371
1.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.371 Slugging Percentage .543
.286 Secondary Average .200
.333 On Base Percentage .395
.705 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .938
0.3 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 1.0
5.2 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 8.6
40.0 Batter Rating 44.5
35.0 At Bats Per Home Run 35.0
1.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.46 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.79
.114 Isolated Power .171
0.57 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.10
.103 Walks Per Plate Appearance .026
.029 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average -.171
12.0 Runs Produced 12.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 0.7
0.4 Patience Ratio 0.6
0.3 Balls In Play Average 0.5
86.3 MLB Rating 95.8
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Progressive Field

Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 17,853 | Capacity:

2024 American League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Houston 88 73 .547 - W2
Seattle 85 77 .525 3.5 W4
Texas 78 84 .481 10.5 W3
Oakland 69 93 .426 19.5 L3
Los Angeles 63 99 .389 25.5 L6

2024 American League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 92 69 .571 - L2
Kansas City 86 76 .531 6.5 W1
Detroit 86 76 .531 6.5 L2
Minnesota 82 80 .506 10.5 L4
Chicago 41 121 .253 51.5 W2
Full Standings