A thrilling game of baseball unfolded on July 18 at Progressive Field, where the Guardians engaged the Athletics for the inaugural match of a three-part series immediately following the MLB all-star break. The Guardians rode into the encounters on a wave of an impressive run, having recently carried out a clean sweep in a three-part series against the Houston Astros from July 7 to July 9 and nabbing three victories in a four-game play against the Chicago White Sox from July 11 to July 13. What made these victories more remarkable was that they followed a disheartening 10-game losing streak between June 26 and July 6.
This losing streak began with a defeat against the Toronto Blue Jays, followed by three consecutive losses each against the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Detroit Tigers. However, in the faceoff against the Athletics, the Guardians made a remarkable comeback, pulling off an 8-6 victory. The game reached its climactic end when Emmanuel Clase successfully struck out Max Muncy and Gio Urshela.
As the thrilling ninth inning progressed, the Athletics managed to reduce the Guardians’ lead to 8-6. Notably, this was achieved by Miguel Andujar who hit a double, allowing Shea Langeliers to score. This vital contribution by Andujar narrowed the gap between the Guards and the A’s to just two runs with only one out left in the ninth inning.
Earlier in the ninth inning, the Athletics had also trimmed the Guardians’ lead to 8-5. This was achieved by the combined action of Nick Kurtz hitting a triple, followed by a scoring triple from Brent Rooker, cutting the Guardians’ lead to 8-4 with the ninth inning yet to record an out. Shortly after, Langeliers hit a double, enabling Rooker to score, consequently reducing Guards’ lead to 8-5 with one out in ninth inning.
The ninth inning also marked a crucial point in the game, where a shift in the pitcher’s roster was observed for the Guardians. Emmanuel Clase was brought in to pitch, replacing Slade Cecconi, who exited the game after an impressive career-high performance of eight innings, where the Guardians lead the Athletics 8-3.
Through his eight innings in the game, Slade Cecconi set a new personal record. As the Guardians held an 8-3 lead over the Athletics, Cecconi had pitched 90 pitches, chalked up one strikeout and allowed only five hits, three earned runs, and no walks. Success was not exclusive to the Guardians; Athletics’ Shea Langeliers also performed commendably by hitting a solo home run, narrowing the Guardians’ lead to 8-3 during the seventh inning.
Langeliers’ noteworthy performance involved sending a ball over the fence in the left-center field. This achievement by Langeliers took place in the seventh inning and lessened the Guardians’ lead to 8-3. On the Guardians’ side, starting pitcher Slade Cecconi had a substantial game where he allowed only five hits and three runs over the span of seven innings.
The Athletics further trimmed the Guardians’ lead from 8-3 to 8-2 in the sixth inning, attributed to Nick Kurtz’s single that allowed Denzel Clarke to score. Having kicked off the inning with a double, Clarke’s run put a dent in Cleveland’s lead. By the end of six innings, Cecconi recorded four allowed hits and two runs, but still no walks or strikeouts.
While the Athletics were catching up, the Guardians weren’t sitting idle. In the fifth inning, Nolan Jones hit a single to left-center field, allowing José Ramírez to score and extending the Guardians’ lead to 8-1. This followed Romero’s double at the start of the inning. Meanwhile, Brent Rooker was on the Athletics’ side, doing his part to trim the Guardians’ lead to 7-1 with a solo home run.
Rooker found his success on the field with a solo homer over the left field fence that dropped the Guardians’ lead to 7-1 in the fifth inning, marking his 100th career home run. Meanwhile, on the Guardians’ side, the starting pitcher, Slade Cecconi had retired 12 of A’s batters in sequence before Rooker’s triumphant home run.
The Guardians saw more of their lead increase in the fourth inning when Brayan Rocchio hit a double to bring home Will Wilson and Bo Naylor, escalating Cleveland’s lead to a formidable 7-0. Wilson had walked with one out and had taken second base on a fielding error, whereas Naylor reached base on a fielder’s choice.
As the game progressed, the Guardians held their footing, with starting pitcher Slade Cecconi retiring 12 Athletic batters in a row during the first four innings. The fourth inning itself culminated into a ground out, a lineout, and a flyout for the Athletics.
A sacrifice fly hit by Carlos Santana, that allowed José Ramírez to score in the third inning, proved key for the Guardians’ quest to extend their lead to 5-0 over the Athletics. Aiding Santana’s efforts was Ramirez who had started with a triple hit to left field. Around the same time, the Guardians also rejoiced at David Fry’s two-run home run against Athletics’ JP Sears, pushing the Guardians into a 4-0 lead.
The third inning also documented Brayan Rocchio’s performance, who scored for Cleveland, extending his team’s lead to 2-0 over the Athletics. Rocchio’s achievement was enabled by Angel Martinez’s single to the central field, giving Cleveland their early lead.
The Guardians’ starting pitcher, Slade Cecconi continued his solid gameplay by retiring nine Athletic batters consecutively during the first three innings. The third inning ended with the Athletics being dealt three ground outs.
The Guardians enjoyed an early lead thanks to Johnathan Rodriguez. His solo home run over the fence in the left-center field against the Athletics’ pitcher, JP Sears, recorded a whopping 402 feet, giving his team a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Meanwhile, The Guardians’ starting pitcher, Slade Cecconi performed impressively as well, allowing no hits by retiring six Athletic batters consecutively in the first two innings.
The game kicked off with the Guardians’ Slade Cecconi retiring the Athletics in order during the first inning with two groundouts and a lineout. Nick Kurtz’s lineout was caught by Angel Martinez in center field, marking an auspicious start to the game for the Guardians. The game, featuring an injured Steven Kwan for the hosts, commenced at 7:10 p.m. ET, seeing the Guardians with right-hander Slade Cecconi (4-4, 3.44 ERA) and the Athletics presenting their left-hander JP Sears (7-7, 4.79 ERA) as starting pitchers.
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