Cleveland Guardians at Philadelphia Phillies

· Major League Baseball

Cleveland Guardians

62-41, 29-26 Away

Final
3 - 1

Philadelphia Phillies

64-39, 37-17 Home

Lively strikes out 6, Guardians top struggling Phillies 3-1 in interleague showdown of MLB's best

The Phillies returned home for the first time since the All-Star break, yet failed to snap out of their recent offensive malaise. MLB-leading Philadelphia (64-39) lost for the fifth time in seven games since the break and the seventh time in the last 10 games overall. The Phillies lost two of three in Pittsburgh and Minnesota after the break.

The Phillies played more like lovable losers against the Guardians (62-41), who moved ahead of the Baltimore Orioles with the best record in the American League with the win and lead the AL Central. Philadelphia committed two errors, botched a rundown, failed to scoop playable one-hoppers in the dirt and chirped at umpires most of the game.

“Our pregame work was crisp and guys had a lot of energy,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “But we've got to throw the ball accurately. We've got to cover all our assignments. We didn't do that early.”

The Phillies are hoping help is on the way.

Philadelphia Austin Hays from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for struggling right-handed pitcher Seranthony Domínguez and light-hitting outfielder Cristian Pache.

Originally selected by the Orioles in the third round of the 2016 MLB draft, Hays played 557 games for Baltimore over parts of seven seasons and had 121 doubles, eight triples, 66 home runs, 242 RBI and 126 walks. The starting center fielder in the 2023 All-Star Game for the AL, Hays has just three homers and 14 RBI in 63 games this season for Baltimore.

“We’ve liked Hays for a few years. I actually tried to acquire him the last two trading deadlines and we’ve been asked for much more than we wanted to give,” team president Dave Dombrowski said. “I know he hasn’t played all that much this year, he’s gotten squeezed out, we feel, from some playing time by all the good young outfielders they have.”

Thomson said Hays could earn the opportunity to become the starting left fielder. Hays sat in the dugout with his new teammates in the opener of a three-game series against the Guardians. Hays was scheduled to start Saturday against Cleveland right-hander Carlos Carrasco.

“I'm going to a place where somebody's wanted me for a few years, so that's good to know,” Hays said.

The Phillies could have used some pop: Guardians reliever Cade Smith retired All-Star shortstop Trea Turner on a popup to shortstop to leave runners stranded on the corners to end the seventh.

Emmanuel Clase worked a scoreless ninth for his 32nd save.

Lively (9-6) gave up Bryson Stott’s solo homer in the fifth inning that made it 3-1, but was otherwise solid. He allowed three hits and walked two in winning for the first time since July 4.

“Ben has a big personality. He's competitive,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He's a huge part of what we do. I couldn't be more happy for him.”

NL All-Star Cristopher Sánchez (7-6) allowed eight hits, three runs and committed an error over six innings.

David Fry had an RBI single in the first inning, and Bo Naylor brought home a run on a squeeze play and Angel Martínez had an RBI single in the fourth to give Cleveland a 3-0 lead.

TOP PICK

No. 1 overall draft pick Travis Bazzana made his minor league debut for Single-A Lake County. Cleveland selected the Australian second baseman first in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft earlier this month.

A former cricket, rugby and soccer player who came to the United States to play baseball for Oregon State, the 21-year-old hit .407 with 28 homers and 66 RBI this season. He became the first Australian and first second baseman taken No. 1.

CLASE CLOSED

Clase converted his last 19 save opportunities dating to May 20 against the New York Mets. Over those 25 games, Clase has posted a 1.08 ERA (3 ER, 25.0 IP) with a 0.72 WHIP, 17 strikeouts and four walks.

OUTTA HERE

Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long was ejected in the third inning by plate umpire Rob Drake.

Up Next

Carlos Carrasco (3-8, 5.32 ERA) takes the mound against Phillies RHP Tyler Phillips (2-0, 2.81 ERA).

How can I watch Cleveland Guardians vs. Philadelphia Phillies?

TV Channel: Guardians at Phillies 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on FanDuel SN GL.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Phillies: 61.8%

Guardians: 38.2%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Wilson struck out swinging.
	9th Inning	Stott singled to left.
	9th Inning	Castellanos grounded out to third.
	9th Inning	Marsh grounded out to shortstop.
	9th Inning	Clase relieved Gaddis
	9th Inning	Ramírez grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Kwan out at second.

Statistics

CLE		PHI
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
0	Hit By Pitch	0
20	Ground Balls	12
8	Strikeouts	7
3	Runs Batted In	1
1	Sacrifice Hit	0
9	Hits	6
2	Stolen Bases	0
3	Walks	2
0	Catcher Interference	0
3	Runs	1
2	Ground Into Double Play	0
0	Sacrifice Flies	0
35	At Bats	34
0	Home Runs	1
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
24	Runners Left On Base	18
0	Triples	0
1	Game Winning RBIs	0
0	Intentional Walks	0
0	Doubles	1
8	Fly Balls	15
1	Caught Stealing	0
132	Pitches	138
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	1
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
1	Is Qualified In Steals	0
9	Total Bases	10
39	Plate Appearances	36
0.0	Projected Home Runs	162.0
0	Extra Base Hits	2
2.4	Runs Created	2.1
.257	Batting Average	.176
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.257	Slugging Percentage	.294
.114	Secondary Average	.176
.316	On Base Percentage	.222
.573	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.516
2.5	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	0.8
2.2	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	2.0
23.0	Batter Rating	15.0
0.0	At Bats Per Home Run	34.0
0.67	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
3.38	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.83
.000	Isolated Power	.118
0.38	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.29
.077	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.056
-.143	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	.000
6.0	Runs Produced	2.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.3	Patience Ratio	0.3
0.3	Balls In Play Average	0.2
75.8	MLB Rating	68.8
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0