CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – There’s a laundry list of words that can be used to describe Amed Rosario this year.
Consistent, dependable; just a couple that manager Terry Francona used Saturday night.
“The kid plays every day. He doesn’t take a play off. He doesn’t take an at-bat off,” Francona said.
Rosario went 1-for-4, driving in a pair of runs and made two equally spectacular defensive plays to lift the Guardians to 4-1 win over the Houston Astros at Progressive field.
“He does it right,” Francoa said. “He’s a good example for everybody.”
The 26-year-old has hit safely in 22 of his last 28 games, batting .325 and clubbing 4 home runs and 20 RBIs. Rosario scored from first, giving the Guardians an early 1-0 lead, on a perfectly executed hit-and-run when Jose Ramirez laced a line drive to right field.
He smacked a two-run single an inning later to give Cleveland a 4-0 lead and some much-needed breathing room.
“Amed getting down the line got us a run. You get rewarded when you do that,” Francona said. “We strung some hits together we were able to run the bases because of that.”
Rosario has been at the center of virtually every trade rumor up until last week’s deadline, when the Guardians stood pat and kept him in the fold. Despite the external noise, all Rosario has done is produce all season long.
“No matter how many people try and tell him he’s not a shortstop, he continues to prove that he’s our shortstop,” Guardians starter Cal Quantrill said. “His hitting, his fielding. I feel extremely confident with Rosario playing shortstop.”
Quantrill remained undefeated in his career at Progressive Field, improving to 11-0 with a 2.74 ERA over 27 starts. He tossed six scoreless innings against the Astros while striking out four.
“I think over the last month, I’ve caught myself not nibbling but, in those moments, the big moments, the game deciding moments not really gathering myself and making the pitch that I want to make,” Quantrill said. “I thought today that’s probably a good example. If I’m going to get beat, I should get beat on my best pitch, so I threw my best pitch.”
Quantrill was efficient Saturday night, taking his early lead and rolling with it. His 85 pitches were the fewest he’s thrown since his first outing of the season.
“It’s not that I’ve been throwing the ball poorly, I feel like I’m just making bad decisions,” Quantrill said. Those small in-game decisions are the difference between three-run home runs and six innings.”
Having a guy like Rosario behind him, both at the plate and in the field helps. He made a leaping Omar Vizquel-esque throw moving towards third to nab Jake Myers that helped keep the bases clean in the 8th inning and another sliding stop for the second out of the ninth.
“I don’t know how much more praise I can give the guy,” Quantrill said. “He runs hard every single day. Shows up with a positive attitude. He rakes.”
The Astros, of course, didn’t go quietly after Rosario’s eye-popping play to record the second out. Back-to-back two-out doubles by Alex-Bregman and Almedys Diaz broke the shutout and raised several eyebrows across the ballpark, but Emmanuel Clase got Trey Mancini to ground out to Rosario to end the game.
Clase surrendered just his second run in his last 31 appearances.
“I think we all needed to remind ourselves that we’re a good team. Regardless of how these last two games have gone or any of the decisions made I feel like we’re a good team,” Quantrill said. “That’s a really good team over there. I thought we battled well. Put up runs early. I finally did my job and kind of held the lead then handed it over to what I think is one of the better 7-8-9s in baseball.”
The Guardians improved to 22-8 when Rosario notches an RBI, including 11-0 when he drives in multiple runs.
“He’s a great player, I feel like everyone wants to pretend he’s not. But he’s a really good player,” Quantrill said.
MOVIN' ON UP -- With an RBI double in the first-inning, Jose Ramirez moved past Lou Boudreau for sole possession of 8th place on the Guardians all-time list for extra base hits.
Ramirez's smacked a 1-1 pitch to right field for his 35th double of the season and 496th of his career.