CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Guardians welcomed the Nationals into Cleveland for the first time since 2016, and handed Washington their 30th loss of the season in the opener of their three-game series.
David Fry slugged his eighth home run of the season in what was a four-run seventh inning for the Guardians. Fry hit a three-run homer to the bleachers in left field on the first pitch of the at-bat.
Fry’s now reached safely in a career-high 18 straight games. Among hitters with 100 or more at-bats, Fry leads the league in OPS (1.114), OBP (.485), and ranks second in batting average (.352).
“More experience and more confidence being here and trusting that I belong on the team,” Fry said when asked what’s different about this season. “Our staff’s done an unbelievable job helping me out with all the different positions and staying ready for at-bats. I can’t give them enough credit.”
Fry had the opportunity to hit after Josh Naylor avoided an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded by running hard to first base.
“That changed the game,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “It gets David to the plate and the big blow happens. He could’ve been upset that he didn’t get the job done, and he didn’t.”
Cleveland struck first with good baserunning in the third inning. Brayan Rocchio walked to start the inning and scored from second base on an infield single by Tyler Freeman. Steven Kwan reached third base on the play, allowing him to score on a Jose Ramirez RBI groundout.
Friday night's win featured the return of outfielder Steven Kwan from the injured list with a strained hamstring. In his first at-bat, he struck out for the first time in 74 plate appearances. Kwan made up for it by hitting three singles and reaching base on a walk in his next four at-bats.
“Today was really nice,” Kwan said. “Warm reception. Good Friday night crowd. It was really special. I definitely felt that month away, but it was good to be back. It was nice to see some of that work come to fruition.”
Kwan’s third single plated Brayan Rocchio in the eighth inning. He extended his on-base streak to 12 games with his eighth three-hit game, tied for the most in baseball with Mookie Betts.
“He’s an animal,” Tyler Freeman said. “I think he can take as much time off as he wants. He’s going to wake up and get three hits a game. It was awesome.”
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Washington’s first two base hits came from singles by Luis Garcia Jr. in the fourth and seventh innings. Garcia Jr. scored in the seventh on an RBI double by Eddie Rosario.
Guardians starter Tanner Bibee settled in after a 20-pitch first inning. He allowed one run on three hits through 6.1 innings pitched in his first career start against the Nationals.
“He was phenomenal,” Vogt said. “He had everything working and it was so much fun to watch.”
Bibee struck out seven batters on 89 pitches thrown in the game, 60 of which were strikes. He’s now recorded back-to-back quality starts at home for the first time this season.
“I think it just gives them a way different look,” Bibee said about adding a slurve to his arsenal. “It was really effective today, and it’s been effective since we’ve been throwing it.”
The Guardians are 11-1 this year with Bibee on the mound. He’s the second Cleveland pitcher since 1961 to have his team win 11 of his first 12 starts of the season, joining CC Sabathia who did it in his Cy Young season in 2007.
Cleveland improved their MLB-best record at home to 19-6 with the win. The club’s eight-game home winning streak is the team’s longest since 2022. They earned the win in front of 35,526 fans at Progressive Field, marking the third sellout of the season.
“We love playing in front of our fans,” Vogt said. “The ballpark atmosphere this year has been tremendous. It’s loud, it’s exciting, and there’s a buzz when we’re at home. The more people in the stands, the more energy we have.”
The Guardians (38-19) continue their series against the Nationals (26-30) tomorrow afternoon. Ben Lively (4-2, 2.80 ERA) will do the pitching for Cleveland. Lively has been credited with a win in each of his last three starts. Opposing him will be Nationals rookie Mitchell Parker (4-2, 3.45).