CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Jose Ramirez served as the team's designated hitter on Wednesday, and he did exactly what a DH is supposed to do, hit homers. For the 22nd time in his career, Ramirez had a multi-home run game and it was the second time he’s done so this season.
Ramirez cranked a 2-1 pitch 423 feet to right field in the first inning and launched another over the right field wall to lead off the fourth. He now leads the team in home runs this season with 16.
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“Everything he does we just kind of expect at this point,” David Fry said. “He goes 0-1 and it’s like he’s probably gonna get three hits his next three at-bats. He’s pretty impressive.”
Ramirez achieved two milestones on Wednesday. He passed Bill Bradley for the 14th-most hits in franchise history with 1,267. By scoring a run, Ramirez passed Hal Trosky for the 11th-most runs scored by a Cleveland player. Ramirez has scored 760 runs in his career and is now behind Larry Doby (808) for 10th all-time.
Also in the fourth inning, David Fry hit a two-run homer to the left-field bleachers. Fry has a .308 batting average with three home runs, 7 RBI, and a 1.088 OPS in his eight games since the All-Star break.
“It’s been nice to play more and more as we’ve gone along,” Fry said. “Just trying to put in work with the coaches to be prepared for each game and luckily we’ve seen some results.”
Steven Kwan and Tyler Freeman were the other two Cleveland batters to record an RBI in the game. Kwan scored Gabriel Arias in the second inning. Arias was initially called out on his slide between the legs of Royals catcher Salvador Perez, but the call was overturned after the Guardians challenged the play. Freeman hit an RBI single to score Ramirez in the sixth inning.
Royals starter Alec Marsh pitched 2 2/3 innings in his first start against the Guardians. He gave up four runs on five hits and struck out three batters. He now holds an 0-5 record in five career starts.
Gavin Williams pitched four innings in his fifth career start at Progressive Field. Williams threw 31 pitches in the first inning and was able to work himself out of a bases-loaded jam. He’s the first Cleveland pitcher with 30 or more pitches in the first inning to not allow a run since Mike Clevinger in 2019.
“I think the blister part that we had some concerns about, I think he managed that pretty well,” manager Terry Francona said. “I thought they had a lot of foul balls today, like a lot. And that drove the pitch count up.”
“It helps out with my confidence a lot,” Williams said about getting out of the first inning without giving up any runs. “I know my stuff plays up here. I just have to be more efficient in that first inning.”
Williams gave up three hits, walked two batters, and had five strikeouts on 75 pitches, 42 of which were strikes. It was only the second time in his rookie season that he didn’t pitch into the fifth inning.
“Like I kinda was talking about the other day with [Tanner] Bibee and Logan [Allen], with repetition and experience you’ll see quicker innings,” Francona said. “Because the stuff is there. Just still learning.”
This was the Guardians third consecutive series win. The club hasn’t won three or more series in a row since they ended the 2022 regular season with five straight series wins. Cleveland now sits two games behind Minnesota in the AL Central.
“Obviously our division is very winnable,” Fry said. “We’re just trying to maintain and keep climbing up the leaderboard. We feel super confident with our pitching that we have a chance every single day to win.”
With the 8-3 victory, the Guardians are 7-3 against the Royals this year and have clinched the season series. Cleveland has now won eight straight season series against Kansas City. That’s tied for the club’s longest stretch of season series victories against the Royals (2004-2011). The teams will meet one more time this season in Kansas City in late September.
The Guardians (51-51) travel to Chicago next for a four-game series against the White Sox (41-61). Chicago has lost four games in a row, but Cleveland is 2-4 against the White Sox this season. Tanner Bibee (6-2, 3.04 ERA) will open the series for the Guardians on the mound. The right-hander will make his 16th start of the season and first career start against the White Sox.