Mercado's single in eighth gives Guardians 4-3 win over Jays
CLEVELAND (AP) ā Franmil Reyes lumbered home on OĢscar Mercadoās tiebreaking, two-out single in the eighth inning and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 Sunday.
Toronto took a 3-2 lead into the eighth, but Owen Millerās one-out homer off Tim Mayza tied it. Mayza retired JoseĢ RamiĢrez, but Miller drove a 2-2 pitch to the left field bleachers.
Adam Cimber (4-2) relieved with two outs and allowed Reyes' single and AndreĢs GimeĢnez's walk. Mercado, who was hit on the left hand by a pitch in the third, lined a 2-2 offering to center, and the 6-foot-5, 265-pound Reyes slid home ahead of the throw that was cut off.
āI just stuck with the fastball and he threw it in a spot where I was able to get a barrel on it,ā Mercado said.
Miller has hit his way into the everyday lineup with a .352 average.
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āI always know that that wallās pretty big in left, but I definitely knew I hit that one pretty well,ā he said. āI guess you never really know. But, yeah, being able to get it up there a little bit, I could feel like that one was gone.ā
Reyes stretched his hitting streak to six games, a span in which he's 12 for 23 with five RBIs.
Bryan Shaw (1-0) pitched the eighth, and Emmanuel Clase worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save. Cleveland has won seven of nine after losing seven in a row.
George Springerās sacrifice fly broke a 2-all tie in the seventh. Teoscar HernaĢndezās bases-loaded single gave Toronto a 2-0 lead after four batters, but the Blue Jays didn't score again until the seventh.
Cleveland tied it in the third on RamiĢrezās RBI triple and Millerās sacrifice fly.
Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah, who came into the game tied for the major league lead with four wins, gave up two runs and struck out three in five innings.
The 6-foot-6, 285-pound Manoah kept Clevelandās hitters from digging in at the plate. He drilled Mercado on the left hand with a 92 mph pitch in the third to load the bases. Mercado immediately removed his batting glove and walked toward Clevelandās dugout. He met with manager Terry Francona and a team trainer before taking first base.
Manoah worked out of the one-out jam by striking out Austin Hedges and retiring Myles Straw on a ground ball.
Manoah hit Josh Naylor on the left foot with a breaking pitch that dived sharply in the dirt during the third. He also threw a pitch to RamiĢrez in the first that sailed to the backstop.
Manoah said he had a difficult time getting a proper grip on the baseballs, which he thought hadnāt been rubbed up properly before the game.
āTheyāre terrible,ā he said. āThose balls were like they were right out of the box. Some were huge. Some were fluffy. They were all brand new white balls."
Manoah didnāt blame his performance on the slippery baseballs, but he was frustrated.
āI'm not going to make any excuses,ā he said. āThe balls are the balls. I have to go pitch.ā
Cleveland rookie Konnor Pilkington, making his first major league start, allowed two runs and struck out six in 3 2/3 innings. The left-hander was called up from Triple-A Columbus before the game.
Pilkington made three scoreless relief appearances earlier this season. Springerās towering fly ball to left hit off the 19 Ā½ foot wall for a double. Bo Bichette walked before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slapped a 1-2 pitch through the right side for a single that loaded the bases.
Toronto has lost five of seven.
TRAINERāS ROOM
Blue Jays: LHP Hyun Jin Ryu (forearm inflammation) made his first rehab start for Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday, allowing five runs (two earned) while striking out six in four innings.
Guardians: 1B Yu Chang (COVID-19 recovery) will rejoin the team this week after he completes a minor league rehab assignment.
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: Toronto begins a three-game series at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night following Mondayās off-day. LHP Yusei Kikuchi (1-1, 4.35 ERA) will pitch the opener.
Guardians: RHP Zach Plesac (1-3, 4.44 ERA) will start the opener of a three-game series Monday night in Chicago. RHP Michael Kopech (0-0, 1.17 ERA) will pitch for the White Sox.
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