CLEVELAND – Steven Kwan’s crucial single in the sixth inning steered the Cleveland Guardians to a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, marking the opener of a doubleheader and handing the Guardians their sixth win in their last seven games.
With the score locked at 4-4, Brenan Bernardino (1-1) set the drama in motion by hitting Will Wilson with a pitch as the sixth inning began. Following Wilson’s advance, Angel Martínez delivered a single and Austin Hedges executed a sacrifice. With Boston’s infield drawn in, Kwan managed to loft a hit into the opposite field, grazing off shortstop Trevor Story’s reach where the infield and outfield meet.
Kwan’s performance ended the first game with an impressive .343 batting average, shining brightly with a .429 score (9 for 21) in scenarios with runners in scoring position.
Tim Herrin (3-0) contributed a masterful hitless inning, while Cade Smith secured three outs to achieve his third save in as many chances. Despite Boston positioning two runners with no outs, Smith extinguished the threat by dismissing Rafael Devers, Alex Bregman, and Trevor Story consecutively, resulting in Boston’s third successive loss.
Wilyer Abreu set the Red Sox off to an energetic start with his three-run homer during a tense 31-pitch first inning against Ben Lively. However, the Guardians responded strongly in the bottom half with José Ramírez, Gabriel Arias, and Daniel Schneeman each driving in runs off Boston’s Tanner Houck, complemented by a sacrifice fly from Carlos Santana.
Rafael Devers added another bright spot for Boston fans with a home run in the third inning.
In a key event, All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase made a notable return for Cleveland by pitching a flawless eighth inning, striking out two and lowering his ERA from 7.84 to 7.15. “He was Clase. He was great,” praised Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt. “He’ll be right back in that closer role.”
On a notable managerial milestone, Alex Cora led Boston for the 1,000th time, all with the Red Sox. His journey includes 535 wins, joining the ranks of esteemed past Boston managers like Joe Cronin, Terry Francona, Pinky Higgins, and Bill Carrigan.
Looking ahead, the doubleheader’s second game will feature Red Sox right-hander Walker Buehler (3-1, 4.23 ERA) going up against Guardians left-hander Doug Nikhazy, who is poised to make his major league debut. Nikhazy brings promising performances from his Triple-A Columbus stint, boasting a 1-0 record with a 3.44 ERA over four starts.