CLEVELAND, OH – Thanks to back-to-back home runs from Jhonkensy Noel and Josh Naylor in a wild bottom half of the fifth inning, the slumping Cleveland Guardians (77-58) outlasting a stubborn Pittsburgh Pirates (62-72) team, 10-8.
In a game that was right before the annual Cleveland International Air Show, and on Fireworks Night, it seemed fitting that it would combine for four home runs and 28 hits between the two teams, in front of a near sellout crowd of 32,132.
Losers of six of their last nine games, and the Kansas City Royals nipping at their heels, the Guardians needed to make a statement at home vs. an equally slumping Bucs team that was also 6-7 in their last 13 games, and staring at another sub .500 season.
Leading 4-0, thanks to two-run double by Josh Naylor, a sacrifice bunt by Austin Hedges and a RBI single by Steven Kwan off of Pirates starting LHP Bailey Falter, who lasted only four innings, gave up seven hits, four earned runs, one walk, two strikeouts on 59 pitches in a no decision.
For those in attendance, little did they know that they would be in for a wild back and forth two-hour and 45 minute affair.
Still nursing a four-run lead, Guardians RHP Ben Lively would get tagged by the Pirates for six runs (earned), after retiring seven of the first eight batters he faced. For the game, Lively finished with a no decision, pitched 4.1 innings, gave up nine hits, gave up six earned runs one walk, three strikeouts, one home run on 94 pitches.
A two-run single by Oneil Cruz, a two-run double by Andrew McCutchen and a 406-foot home run by Rowdy Tellez, giving the Pirates a 6-4 lead.
And then the real fireworks started.
Following a RBI single from Naylor, scoring Jose Ramirez to make the score 6-5, an 0-1 count, with one out, Noel smashed a 450-foot bomb into the left field bleachers off reliever Carmen Mlodzinski to put the Guards ahead 7-6.
Andres Gimenez would follow with a 375-foot shot to right field on the first pitch to make the score 8-6.
Pittsburgh would get one run back, thanks to a RBI single from Oneil Cruz, scoring Isiah Kiner-Falefa, making the score 8-7.
Cleveland would add a couple of insurance runs on RBI singles from David Fry and Josh Naylor making the score 10-7, before Andrew McCutchen hit his 17th home run, a 369-feet blast into the right field bleachers, off of All-Star reliever Emmanuel Clase in the top of the ninth inning.
Clase would earn his 40th save of the season, his 150th career save, setting a new franchise record, surpassing Cody Allen for first all-time.