CLEVELAND — Cleveland allowed three runs before recording its first out Friday night.
It did not allow another.
Joey Cantillo delivered six scoreless innings, while Travis Bazzana and José Ramírez homered as the Guardians rallied from an early deficit to defeat the Athletics 5-3 at Progressive Field.
Daniel Espino struggled with his command from the beginning. He walked Henry Bolte and Lawrence Butler before Zack Gelof launched a three-run homer to center field, giving the Athletics a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
Espino recovered to retire the next three batters, but his night ended after one inning. He allowed one hit, walked three and threw only 14 of his 27 pitches for strikes.
Cantillo entered in the second and immediately brought stability to the game. The left-hander limited the Athletics to two hits and one walk over six scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing Cleveland’s offense time to recover.
The Guardians finally broke through during the fourth. Brayan Rocchio doubled into right field, scoring Patrick Bailey and Petey Halpin to cut the deficit to one. Ramírez followed with a single to center, bringing Rocchio home with the tying run.
Cleveland moved ahead for the first time when Bazzana opened the fifth with his 15th home run of the season. Ramírez added an insurance run with a solo homer to right in the sixth, extending the lead to 5-3.
Ramírez finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs, collecting the 1,000th RBI of his career with his sixth-inning home run. Rocchio went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs, while eight of Cleveland’s nine starters contributed to the team’s 10-hit performance.
Cantillo earned his 10th victory of the season and lowered his ERA to 3.74. Hunter Gaddis pitched a perfect eighth before Cade Smith struck out two in a scoreless ninth to record his 38th save.
After allowing the first three batters to score, Cleveland’s pitching staff held the Athletics to two hits over the final eight innings.
What’s Next
The Guardians continue their final regular-season home series Saturday at 6:10 p.m. at Progressive Field. Tanner Bibee is scheduled to start for Cleveland.
