The Cleveland Guardians returned from the All-Star break Friday with a victory to get back on track.
The win came at the expense of the San Diego Padres, who continue to scuffle.
The Guardians can clinch another winning home series by handing the Padres their eighth loss in nine games on Saturday night.
Cleveland leads the American League Central but entered the break amid a 7-11 rut. However, the Guardians scored six times in the eighth inning Friday en route to a 7-0 victory over the Padres.
All-Star players David Fry, Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez combined for seven hits and three RBIs, and Tanner Bibee allowed two hits over 5 2/3 innings as the Guardians improved to 31-11 at home, where they’ve won 10 of their past 12 games and have lost just one series this year.
“This team is so much fun,” Bibee told Apple TV. “We’re just playing baseball.”
Meanwhile, San Diego has been outscored 45-17 in losing seven of their past eight games. The Padres managed just four hits Friday, while their beleaguered bullpen allowed six runs and owns a 10.00 ERA over the last nine games.
Despite this tough stretch, San Diego is still in the wild-card hunt in the crowded National League.
“We’re in contention,” Padres general manager A.J. Preller said on the club’s website. “That’s where you want to be … Now, it’s definitely about things we can improve on.”
Saturday’s scheduled Padres starter, Dylan Cease (8-8, 3.99 ERA), went 4-0 with a 1.38 ERA in his first five 2024 road starts but is 0-3 with a 9.53 ERA in the last five away from home. That includes allowing 13 runs, 15 hits, four homers and five walks over 7 1/3 innings of his last two road starts.
However, the right-hander allowed one hit, three walks and struck out 11 over six innings of his most recent start — a 4-0 home victory against Atlanta on July 13.
“I think I finally got some things to sync up,” Cease said. “You just kind of have to battle until you can kind of get it to click.”
Cease is 5-5 with a 3.96 ERA in 12 career starts against the Guardians, all coming with the Chicago White Sox.
Cleveland’s Josh Naylor, Andres Gimenez and Kwan — who is batting a major-league-best .354 — are a combined 19-for-58 (.328) with five doubles and two triples vs. Cease. Teammate Will Brennan is 4-for-8 with a homer against him.
Scheduled Guardians starter Gavin Williams (0-1, 3.77 ERA) allowed five runs and seven hits in four innings of his 2024 debut against the White Sox on July 3 after dealing with elbow inflammation since late March. However, the right-hander has yielded just one run and seven hits over 10 1/3 innings of two starts since.
That run, plus three walks, came through five of those innings at Tampa Bay in his most recent outing July 13.
“It’s still a work in progress, getting him back into the competitive intensity,” Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis told the Medina (Ohio) Gazette.
“He’s always shown the ability we saw (against the Rays). We saw it numerous times,” Willis added of Williams posting a 3.29 ERA in 16 starts as a rookie in 2023.
Williams will get his first look at San Diego All-Star Luis Arraez, who with two hits Friday is batting .380 on the road this season.
–Field Level Media
