Corey Kluber's Returns to Cleveland Ends With Rays' Victory in 11 Innings
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Harold Ramirez has had a lot of big hits for the Tampa Bay Rays this season, but considering time and circumstances, none have been any bigger than his two-run double in the 11th inning on Tuesday night.
The extra-inning hit down the line to left scored baserunners Taylor Walls and Wander Franco and led to a huge 6-5 victory for the Rays over the Cleveland Guardians. The win, coupled with Baltimore's 13-9 loss to Boston, lowered the Rays' magic number to three with eight games — all on the road — to go to clinch a wild-card spot.
Ramirez, who is hitting a team-leading .314 this year with 60 RBIs in just 379 at-bats, simply focused on making contact in the 11th instead of swinging for the fences.
The plan, it worked. And the Rays had their 85th win of the year.
"I'm very excited getting that base hit, because we need to win some games (to make the playoffs,'' Ramirez said. "I was just looking for a good pitch to hit. If I hit the ball, something good could happen.''
Some solid base-running helped in the 11th, too, all after two out. Walls, who was the placed runner in the extra inning, made a good read on a ball in the dirt and moved up to third. Franco, who walked, then stole second, putting both of them in scoring position. They scored easily on Ramirez's hit.
"That was a big hit, a big at-bat Their bullpen is really good,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. Wallsy, that was kind of the base-running play of the game right there, and then it allowed Wander to get the guy to second.
"We've learned over time that you've got to get two to win a lot of these extra innings games.''
The game started with the highly anticipated return to Cleveland for Rays starter Corey Kluber. He pitched here nine years and reached a World Series and won two Cy Young awards. He's faced Cleveland twice before, but this was his first time pitching against the Guardians at Progressive Field.
Kluber lasted just four innings, giving up three runs and eight hits, and the pitches (91) piled up quickly. He also had to deal with a 23-minute rain delay. He gave up a run in the third when Steven Kwan singled and scored on a two-out triple by Jose Ramirez high off the right field wall to give the Guardians a 1-0 lead.
Kluber also gave up two runs in the bottom of the fourth, but thankfully his teammates put up a crooked number on Shane Bieber, the Cleveland starter. They scored four runs, with Franco and Ramirez getting doubles. Ramirez scored on a groundout by David Peralta and Jose Siri followed with a two-run homer.
The Rays could do no other damage in regulation, though, and they tried to protect that 4-3 lead through a few scares. They had a base runner in the fifth and sixth, and then Colin Poche allowed back-to-back singles to open the seventh. But Brooks Raley came to get the final two outs and end the threat on just eight pitches.
Jason Adam pitched the eighth. Gabriel Arias drew a one-out walk and then stole second. He went to third on a ground ball, and then scored on an infield single by Myles Straw. He was originally called out, but the call was reversed on replay, tying the game at 4-4. Pete Fairbanks pitched a scoreless ninth and then Javy Guerra did the same in the 10th, earning his second win of the month.
Faucher got through the 11th with just one infield single against him, closing the game out for his first career save. It was a critical moment for a guy who came into the game with a 6.27 ERA. He was the ninth Rays' pitcher on the night.
"That was very exciting. I'm happy that they had the confidence in me to get the job done, and it was very exciting to get it done,'' Faucher said. "It's huge, offensively and defensively and Harold came up clutch. It's very exciting for everyone in here.''
Franco, who extended his hitting streak to 13 with that fourth-inning double, has been terrific since returning on from a wrist injury. And now he's got the Rays within a few days of clinching their fourth straight postseason berth.
"That was a tremendous game, and I'm glad we were able to come out on top,'' Franco said. "Harold's been doing it all year long for us and I'm glad we were able to pull that out.
"Everything feels good. I feel good in the box and feel good physically. Now the only thing left is to make the playoffs.
That journey continues when the two teams meet again on Wednesday night at 6:10 p.m. ET, with Tyler Glasnow making his first appearance of the season for the Rays after recovering from Tommy John surgery. He will face 25-year-old Tristan McKenzie, who is 11-11 on the season with a 3.04 ERA.
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Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.