CLEVELAND, OH - The Cleveland Guardians (23-13) fell to the Detroit Tigers (19-17), 11-7, in a game that started out as a barn burner with 15 of the 18 runs scored and three lead changes in the first four innings, but finished quietly offensively.
Both starting pitchers had rough outings on the mound, as Guardians' Logan Allen and Tigers' Kenta Maeda both allowed seven earned runs in less than three innings in their starts on Tuesday.
Allen allowed seven hits, including two home runs, as well as a pair of walks and strikeouts in 2.1 innings pitched. It was the shortest start in Allen's young career.
"He struggled," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said of Allen's performance. "[He had] a hard time commanding the fastball and [it] seemed like when he did execute a breaking ball, they were on it. These things, getting behind in the count and missing some pitches over middle, [it's a] credit to them. They were aggressive, came out swinging, and didn't miss much."
Conversely, the 3-4-5 hitters for the Guardians provided some much needed juice in the middle of the order, notching six of the team's seven RBI. Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez followed up his late game heroics from Tuesday night with another stellar night at the plate, hitting 3-4 with a double and two RBI, tying Larry Doby (776) for ninth on the club's all-time RBI list.
Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor crushed his ninth home run of the season in the bottom of the second. Naylor, 27, continued to demolish pitching at Progressive Field this year, hitting .345 with seven home runs, 18 RBI, and a blistering 1.228 OPS in 16 games at home.
Outfielder Will Brennan continued his hot streak over the past seven games with an RBI-double in the first inning. Brennan has been hitting .364 with four RBI and a .909 OPS over his past nine games, and will get more playing time after outfielder Steven Kwan was placed on the injured-list on Monday.
Florial-ishing at the Top
Following Kwan's injury, the Guardians were in need of a leadoff hitter, and in the three games since, outfielder Estevan Florial has stepped into the role quite nicely.
The power hitting outfielder has two doubles and scored twice in the three games since being bumped to the top of the lineup. Florial, 26, hit in the leadoff spot in four games in 2023 for the Yankees, hitting .250 with two doubles and two RBI.
What's Next?
The Guardians will turn to right-hander Tanner Bibee (2-1, 4.46) on the mound for the start in the rubber match on Thursday afternoon at 1:10 PM at Progressive Field. The Tigers will look for right-handed starting pitcher Reese Olson (0-4, 2.70) to get his first win of the season.
The Guardians allowed the most runs since their 11-7 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on September 26, 2023.
