Cincinnati Reds at Cleveland Guardians

· Major League Baseball

Cincinnati Reds

76-83, 37-41 Away

Final
2 - 5

Cleveland Guardians

92-67, 50-28 Home

José Ramírez hits 3-run homer in 8th, playoff-bound Guardians beat Reds 5-2

Jose Ramirez belts a go-ahead 3-run HR in the 8th

Ramírez hit his 38th homer of the season, connecting against Emilio Pagán (4-5) with two outs to score Steven Kwan and Angel Martínez. The All-Star third baseman also doubled, tripled and scored twice. He has 115 RBI and 40 stolen bases.

“One of my favorite things about getting this job is getting to watch José every night,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “There is really no way to pitch him.”

Cleveland has wrapped up a first-round bye in the playoffs and remains in the hunt for the top seed in the AL, trailing the New York Yankees by a game with three remaining.

The Guardians used seven pitchers, with Hunter Gaddis (6-3) picking up the win and Emmanuel Clase loading the bases before getting his franchise-record 47th save. Clase tied St. Louis’ Ryan Helsley for the major league lead.

“Clase is everything to us,” Ramírez said through an interpreter. “Him and all the bullpen guys, we’re where we are because of them.”

Cincinnati did not have a baserunner until TJ Friedl reached on a bunt single in the seventh that Tim Herrin could not field in time. Friedl would come home on a throwing error by Andrés Giménez, pulling the Reds within 2-1.

Vogt said Friedl made “a good baseball play” by laying down the bunt toward first, even with history at stake.

“If it was a starter in the game in the seventh inning, that’s different, but not in a bullpen game,” Friedl said. “(Bunting) is what I do, it’s no surprise. I’m playing the ballgame. We were down two runs.”

Jake Fraley then scored on a mishandled single by center fielder Lane Thomas in the eighth — Cleveland’s third error in two innings — to even the score against Gaddis.

Andrew Walters pitched the first 1 2/3 innings for the Guardians, tying the MLB record with an eighth straight hitless appearance to begin his career. Erik Sabrowski, Cade Smith and Eli Morgan maintained the perfect game through the sixth.

Kwan led off the game with a home run after spending 11 days on the injured list because of mid-back inflammation. Josh Naylor added an RBI single in the fourth, also off Reds starter Jakob Junis, who went five innings.

“I feel like the story was going to write itself after the sixth inning with our bullpen,” Kwan said. “They’ve been so good for us all year.”

Before the game, Vogt announced that right-hander Tanner Bibee and left-hander Matthew Boyd would make their next starts in the ALDS, bypassing their final regular-season outings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: 2B Jonathan India (head) was not in the lineup, one day after being struck on the helmet by Bibee’s pitch. India pinch hit in the eighth and grounded into a double play.

Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb (right third finger blister) will throw several simulated games before the postseason, but remain on the IL until being moved onto the playoff roster.

Reds: Cincinnati has not announced its starters for a three-game road series against the Cubs. Chicago RHP Jameson Taillon (11-8, 3.41 ERA) works the first game Friday.

Guardians: LHP Joey Cantillo (2-3, 4.63 ERA) will pitch Friday against Astros RHP Ronel Blanco (12-6, 2.88 ERA) in the opener of a three-game set at Progressive Field.

How can I watch Cincinnati Reds vs. Cleveland Guardians?

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

Matchup Prediction

Guardians: 50.3%

Reds: 49.7%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Fraley grounded into fielder's choice to third, Hinds out at second.
	9th Inning	France struck out swinging.
	9th Inning	Steer lined out to shortstop.
	9th Inning	Hinds ran for Stephenson
	9th Inning	Stephenson walked, De La Cruz to second.
	9th Inning	De La Cruz singled to center, Friedl to third.

Statistics

CIN		CLE
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
0	Hit By Pitch	0
0	Ground Balls	0
8	Strikeouts	7
0	Runs Batted In	5
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
6	Hits	8
0	Stolen Bases	0
2	Walks	1
0	Catcher Interference	0
2	Runs	5
2	Ground Into Double Play	1
0	Sacrifice Flies	0
31	At Bats	30
0	Home Runs	2
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
12	Runners Left On Base	5
0	Triples	1
0	Game Winning RBIs	0
0	Intentional Walks	0
1	Doubles	1
0	Fly Balls	0
0	Caught Stealing	1
117	Pitches	117
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	0
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
0	Is Qualified In Steals	1
7	Total Bases	17
33	Plate Appearances	31
0.0	Projected Home Runs	324.0
1	Extra Base Hits	4
0.8	Runs Created	4.2
.194	Batting Average	.267
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.226	Slugging Percentage	.567
.097	Secondary Average	.300
.242	On Base Percentage	.290
.468	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.857
0.0	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	0.0
0.8	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	4.7
12.0	Batter Rating	38.5
0.0	At Bats Per Home Run	15.0
0.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
3.55	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.77
.032	Isolated Power	.300
0.25	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.14
.061	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.032
-.097	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	.033
2.0	Runs Produced	10.0
0.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.3	Patience Ratio	0.6
0.3	Balls In Play Average	0.3
66.3	MLB Rating	86.8
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0