San Francisco Giants at Cleveland Guardians

· Major League Baseball

San Francisco Giants

44-46, 19-27 Away

Final
4 - 5

Cleveland Guardians

55-32, 29-11 Home

Steven Kwan, Jhonkensy Noel hit solo homers in Guardians' 5-4 victory over the Giants

The Guardians have the best home record in baseball at 29-11 — winning 18 of their last 23 at Progressive Field — and moved past Baltimore into first in the AL.

“There is a really common theme with the guys here,” Noel said through translator Agustin Rivero. “We play to win because we want to win.”

Kwan, who will start in the outfield at the All-Star Game, went 2 for 4 to raise his average to .365. He extended his interleague hitting streak to 11 games and is batting .413 against National League foes.

Noel homered for the third time in eight games since making his major league debut June 26. His towering solo shot to left off Luke Jackson pushed Cleveland’s lead to 5-3 in the sixth inning.

“I know myself, I’m a power hitter,” Noel said. “I know pitchers are going to attack me, so I have to be very disciplined, very patient and very do my best.”

Pedro Avila (3-1) was awarded the win for 1 1/3 innings of one-run relief. Emmanuel Clase walked Matt Chapman in the ninth before wrapping it up for his AL-high 26th save.

Tyler Fitzgerald delivered a two-run single, Michael Conforto had an RBI double and Chapman scored on a double-steal for San Francisco. The Giants have won eight of their last 12, but failed to reach .500 for the first time since May 31.

Fitzgerald provided the big hit in the Giants’ three-run fifth, then stole second, which prompted Chapman to try to beat the return throw to the plate. It was San Francisco’s first theft of home in seven years.

“I actually wasn’t supposed to go there, but I saw (catcher Bo Naylor) throw to second and took off,” Chapman said. “Cleveland has got some good guys on the mound, so you’ve got to take a chance in a situation like that.”

Conforto’s double pulled the Giants to 5-4 in the seventh, giving him 10 RBI and eight extra-base hits in a 12-game stretch.

Kyle Harrison (4-4), activated for his first start since June 10, went 3 1/3 innings and gave up four runs. The left-hander was on the injured list with a sprained right ankle.

Guardians left-hander Logan Allen struck out a season-high nine in 4 1/3 innings, allowing two runs.

“I’m a competitor because I always think I can get through the fifth, but I’m kind of happy with the way things turned out,” Allen said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Giants: RHP Alex Cobb (right shoulder soreness) struck out five over two scoreless innings in his second rehab appearance for Single-A San Jose on Friday. Manager Bob Melvin said Cobb told him that he “felt fine” when they spoke Saturday morning.

Guardians: LHP Matthew Boyd (Tommy John surgery) threw a two-inning simulated game at Progressive Field before the gates opened, reaching 91-93 mph on his fastball. Recent signee Boyd is expected to make his Cleveland debut in August.

Giants RHP Hayden Birdsong (1-0, 4.66 ERA) faces Guardians RHP Carlos Carrasco (3-6, 5.21 ERA) on Sunday in the series finale. Birdsong makes his third big league start since being recalled from Triple-A Sacramento.

How can I watch San Francisco Giants vs. Cleveland Guardians?

TV Channel: Giants at Guardians 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on ESPN+.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Guardians: 57.0%

Giants: 43.0%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Conforto grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Chapman out at second.
	9th Inning	Chapman walked.
	9th Inning	Ramos flied out to center.
	9th Inning	Yastrzemski lined out to right.
	9th Inning	Clase relieved Gaddis
	9th Inning	Yastrzemski hit for Slater

Statistics

SF		CLE
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
0	Hit By Pitch	0
8	Ground Balls	12
14	Strikeouts	5
3	Runs Batted In	5
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
6	Hits	6
2	Stolen Bases	0
7	Walks	5
0	Catcher Interference	0
4	Runs	5
0	Ground Into Double Play	1
0	Sacrifice Flies	1
34	At Bats	27
0	Home Runs	2
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
25	Runners Left On Base	8
0	Triples	0
0	Game Winning RBIs	1
0	Intentional Walks	0
2	Doubles	0
12	Fly Balls	11
0	Caught Stealing	1
184	Pitches	125
0	Games Started	0
3	Pinch At Bats	0
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
1	Is Qualified In Steals	1
8	Total Bases	12
41	Plate Appearances	33
0.0	Projected Home Runs	324.0
2	Extra Base Hits	2
3.5	Runs Created	3.8
.176	Batting Average	.222
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.235	Slugging Percentage	.444
.324	Secondary Average	.370
.317	On Base Percentage	.333
.552	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.778
0.7	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	1.1
3.3	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	4.2
26.0	Batter Rating	32.0
0.0	At Bats Per Home Run	13.5
1.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
4.49	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.79
.059	Isolated Power	.222
0.50	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	1.00
.171	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.152
.147	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	.148
7.0	Runs Produced	10.0
0.8	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.4	Patience Ratio	0.6
0.3	Balls In Play Average	0.2
71.8	MLB Rating	81.8
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0