Cleveland Baseball Insider

Guardians Outlast Dodgers To Win Series Opener

The Guardians beat the Dodgers 2-1 in low-scoring game.

Tommy Wild

In this story:

The Guardians and Dodgers gave fans an exciting (and stressful) start to the series! It was a low-scoring game on both ends, but the Guardians were able to survive in extras and get the 2-1 win!

Plesac Pitched Fantastic

Zach Plesac pitched his best game of the year against the best lineup he's seen! He went for six innings, gave up five hits, and had one strikeout, with two walks. The only run he gave up was a solo homer to Cody Bellinger in the second inning. 

The Dodgers lineup is absolutely loaded, so for Plesac to pitch so well against them has to be a huge confidence booster for him!

The bullpen came in big too. Sam Hentges, Trevor Stephan, and Anthony Gose each came in and pitched clean innings in high leverage situations.

Enyel De Los Santos then came into the game in the tenth inning and got the save!

Low Scoring For Both Sides

Tonight's series opener was a low-scoring one for both sides. For the Guardians, their first run came in the fourth inning thanks to a Josh Naylor sacrifice fly which scored Jose Ramirez. 

The two teams were locked at one apiece heading into the tenth until Richie Palacios came into the game as a pinch hitter and knocked in Owen Miller with a sacrifice fly making it 2-1. This ended up being the game-winner for the Guardians.

Amed Rosario also hit a double in his first at-bat which extended his hitting streak to 11 games. He continues to be one of the Guardians' hottest hitters. 

Heads Up Defense

The defense was a big theme for the Guardians in the series opener. Andres Gimenez made an incredible catch to rob Freddie Freeman of a hit in the first inning. He also saved a run by backing up Naylor at the end of the third inning. 

One of the biggest plays of the game was a heads-up play from both Naylor and Luke Maile. After Gimenez bobbled a ball hit to second and was late with the throw to first, Naylor came off the bag and threw out the runner heading to third, which was being covered by Maile. 

After the play, Naylor was pointing at his head signifying the smart play on Maile's end. Its high baseball IQ plays such as this one that are important and can end up having a big impact on the game.

Oscar Gonzalez did drop a routine fly ball in the top of the ninth that looked like it would cost the Guardians. But he redeemed himself by catching the final out of the inning and sending the game to extras. It was clear Gonzalez wasn't going to make the same mistake twice with him catching the second ball with two hands. 

What a start to the series and what a big win for the Guardians! 

The Guardians and Dodgers will continue their series tomorrow night with Cal Quantrill on the bump for the Guardians and Julio Urias on the mound for the Dodgers. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm and will be broadcasted on Fox. 

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Tommy Wild
TOMMY WILD

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