The Cleveland Guardians came out on top of a close battle on Tuesday, taking down the New York Yankees 9-4 in the series opener.
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Both sides took some time to get going, but the third, fourth and fifth innings proved to be the most eventful.
Cleveland struck first, but only got one run in the third inning on an RBI sac fly ball by Brayan Rocchio.
Moments later, Paul Goldschmidt cracked a 386′ two-run home run to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the third.
But that lead was short-lived as Kyle Manzardo responded with a 367′ two-run homer of his own. In the bottom of the fourth, the Yankees regained the lead on a two-run RBI single as Goldschmidt kept his hot streak going.
Once again, Cleveland regained control in the top of the fifth when Travis Bazzana tied the game on an RBI sac fly ball. Jose Ramirez was the next man up and he hit a one-run RBI double down the right foul line to go up 5-4.
After a scoreless sixth, Ramirez came through with another two-run RBI double to make it a 6-4 game.
Aaron Judge was a late scratch for the Yankees on Tuesday with a bone bruise in his shoulder and New York’s hitters struggled to make up for his absence.
In the top of the eighth, Travis Bazzana extended the lead with a three-run RBI double, effectively sealing the 9-4 victory.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
