CLEVELAND, Ohio — Tampa Bay Buccaneers manager Kevin Cash went to his bullpen early, and the Guardians’ hitters — who had plenty to say in the first two innings Thursday — took it easy after that in a 5-2 loss to the Rays at Progressive Field.
Cash’s relief corps held Cleveland to one hit over the final seven innings, and the Rays turned a one-run deficit by scoring two runs in the fourth inning against Guardians starter Gavin Williams, who suffered his second consecutive loss.
The Rays ended their own three-game losing streak despite starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot leaving after two innings and just 38 pitches. Former Cleveland farmhand Cole Sulser pitched three scoreless relief innings for his first win. Pepiot entered the game with a 2.17 ERA in his last seven starts, but gave up two runs on four hits before Sulser took the lead.
Sulser, a 25th-round draft pick by Cleveland in 2013, was sent to the Rays along with Yandy Diaz in 2018 as part of the deal that brought Carlos Santana back to Cleveland. Manager Stephen Vogt said Sulser took advantage of a good changeup and cutter to neutralize Cleveland’s left-handed pitching.
“Those are the two equalizer hitters, so he’s very tough against left-handers and made the shots when he needed to,” Vogt said. “We had our chances and then he made a perfect changeup right at the bottom of the zone.”
Cleveland missed the chance to reduce its magic number and secure the American League’s Central Division. That number remains at 12, and the Guardians’ lead over the off-season Royals shrank to four games with 15 games left to play.
Williams, who made the shortest appearance of his career on Saturday against the Dodgers, allowed a solo home run to Brandon Lowe in the first inning. It was Lowe’s 18th of the season and the fourth home run Williams has allowed in his last six appearances.
Williams received just two runs of support from Cleveland’s offense, which is the 13th time in his 14 starts that he has received two runs or less. His 2.00 runs of support per nine innings is the lowest in the major leagues this season. Williams said after his short start in Los Angeles, he tried to focus on the future.
“I’m just trying to clear my head tonight,” Williams said. “As soon as I walk out of here, it’s a new day. I try not to really think about it the rest of the week.”
Gavin Williams of the Cleveland Guardians throws a pitch during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday at Progressive Field.Getty Images
Big-hitting Lane Thomas hit a two-out double against Pepiot in the first inning to bring in Jose Ramírez from third base. Thomas entered the game leading the American League with a .405 average, including 15 hits in 10 games. He has nine RBIs in his last four games and has a sure hit in eight straight games.
Pepiot stopped Steven Kwan at the plate earlier in the inning when he caught a ground ball from Josh Naylor and threw it home to Ben Rortvedt, who got the tag. Kwan hit a single in the first inning and has reached base safely in seven of his last eight games, including eight of 15 plate appearances against the White Sox earlier this week.
Andrés Giménez gave Cleveland the lead in the second inning with an RBI single after Rocchio and Kwan drew back-to-back two-out walks from Pepiot. Giménez entered the game with a .304 batting average (17-of-56) in his last 13 games and had a .321 batting average with an .841 OPS in 35 September games over the last two seasons.
Cleveland’s defense helped keep Tampa Bay off the scoreboard in the third inning when Rocchio made an unassisted double play after Christopher Morel fired a leadoff double off the wall in center. Morel led off second base, Lowe hit a line drive that Rocchio caught on the run, hitting the runner before he could get back to base. Thomas then robbed Junior Caminero of a hit with a sliding catch while moving to right center.
But Williams gave up the lead in the fourth inning when he allowed a walk to Josh Lowe with one out and Jose Caballero hit a double to put two runners in scoring position. Jonathan Aranda’s sacrifice fly to center tied the score and Jonny DeLuca gave Tampa the lead with an RBI single.
Vogt said Williams fought through to the sixth inning despite a suboptimal fastball.
“The consistency in repeating his throws was his biggest weakness tonight,” Vogt said. “They hit his fastball hard because he was behind.”
The Rays scored another run in the eighth inning against Pedro Avila on a walk and two base hits, including an RBI single by Jose Caballero. But it could have been worse, as Josh Naylor stopped a run-saving hit by Jonathan Aranda down the first-base line and Steven Kwan threw out a potential run at the plate on a fly ball off Jonny DeLuca’s bat as Josh Lowe tried to catch up and score.
Vogt said Cleveland has been able to stay in first place in the AL Central this season thanks to its defense, pitching and hitting percentage.
“Our defense has been great all year, and you could see that tonight when Rocchio made a play, Kwan made the nice throw and Lane made two really nice catches in the middle of the field,” Vogt said. “Our defense is what keeps us in the game, and it’s been phenomenal all year.”
The run allowed by Avila in the eighth inning ended a streak of 14 consecutive innings without a run allowed in the Cleveland bullpen. Rookie Andrew Walters made his major league debut in the ninth inning, allowing a run on an RBI sacrifice fly by pinch hitter Logan Driscoll after walking the first batter, Jose Siri, because of a pitch timer violation on ball four.
Ramírez hit a single and stole his 39th base in the first inning. With his 241st career steal, Ramírez is now tied with Ray Chapman for fourth place in franchise history and breaks the tie with Nap Lajoie (240).
Josh Naylor, whose eighth-inning single was Cleveland’s only base hit after the second inning, has reached base safely in 14 of his last 16 games.
Next: The series continues Friday with a first pitch from Progressive Field scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Right-hander Tanner Bibee (11-7, 3.56) will start for Cleveland, while right-hander Zack Littell (6-9, 3.89) will be on the mound for the Rays. Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM 110 AM, WMMS 100.7 FM, WARF 1350 AM (Spanish) and the Guardians Radio Network will broadcast the game.
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