CLEVELAND, OH – Kerry Carpenter and Javier Baez each hit a home run to help the Detroit Tigers to a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday night.
Carpenter launched his 17th home run of the season to score three runs for Detroit in the opening frame. In the seventh, Javier Baez roped a solo shot – his 7th of the year – off Guardians reliever Nick Sandlin to extend Detroit’s lead to 4-2.
Tanner Bibee (9-3) suffered his first loss since Jun. 13 in a five-inning start. The rookie right-hander allowed five hits and three earned runs while recording six strikeouts and one walk.
“I think I honestly pitched pretty well,” Bibee stated after the game. “One three-run homer is the difference between us winning and losing. They put together good at-bats, and ultimately won the game.”
Tigers starter Matt Manning (5-4) allowed one earned run over a season-high six innings to earn his first career victory against Cleveland. The right-hander allowed five hits and one walk while striking out a pair.
The Guardians (59-65) got on the board in the bottom of the first inning on Kole Calhoun’s first home run in Cleveland – a two-out solo shot off Manning that extended the left-hander’s hitting streak to seven games.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Bo Naylor (3-4, 2B, run) roped a double to score Gabriel Arias when Riley Greene and Jake Rogers each committed an error on the throw to home plate.
Baez’s home run was the lone hit allowed by Sandlin over 1 2/3 innings of work. Trevor Stephan and James Karinchak each pitched an inning of scoreless relief for the Guardians.
Detroit reliever Will Vest allowed a Steven Kwan RBI single in the bottom of the seventh but worked his way out of trouble to keep the Tigers ahead. Alex Lange and Andrew Vasquez each pitched a shutout inning, while Jason Foley wrapped up his seventh save of the season in a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Guardians close their weekend series on Sunday at 1:40 p.m. Logan Allen (6-5, 3.13 ERA) is projected to face Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (8-6, 3.13 ERA).
MINOR LEAGUE NOTES
Guardians veteran right-hander Cal Quantrill is expected to make a start on Sunday for Triple-A Columbus, against the New York Mets’ Syracuse affiliate.
Quantrill is expected to be limited to 80 pitches.
