PITTSBURGH — Josh Naylor had three RBIs with a house run and a double, serving to the Cleveland Guardians rout the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-0 on Monday evening to finish a four-game shedding streak.
Naylor’s sixth-inning RBI double prolonged his hitting streak to eight video games and gave Cleveland a 5-0 lead. He drove a Yohan Ramirez sinker over the left-field wall within the seventh for a nine-run lead, the final of the Guardians’ trio of two-run homers.
“When he drives the ball the other way, he’s so dangerous,” Guardians supervisor Terry Francona stated. “That’s why I don’t think we haven’t seen yet the best of him. I just think there’s more in there. I’m not saying he’s not doing great. I’m just saying there’s more in there.”
Steven Kwan added an RBI single within the eighth and Myles Straw had a run-scoring infield single within the ninth. Cleveland had totaled 10 runs throughout its 4 losses.
Michael Kelly (1-0) struck out two and allowed two hits in 1 2/3 innings for his first main league win. Xzavion Curry gave up one hit and one stroll in three innings.
“I think it’s great for us to just be able to band together as a bullpen,” Curry stated. “Put a strong game together to be able to get the team back into the win column and hopefully get things rolling.”
PHOTOS: Josh Naylor’s 3 RBIs lead Guardians over Pirates 11-0 to finish 4-game skid
Quinn Priester (0-1), the fourth-ranked prospect within the Pirates’ system, allowed seven runs and 7 hits over 5 1/3 innings in his main league debut.
“Just kind of getting the feel,” Priester stated. “Feeling that confidence, feeling the game situation and learning. Ultimately I might have failed a little bit tonight, but those failures are gonna push me to get better.”
Endy Rodríguez, ranked third, additionally debuted to catch Priester in a battery typically used at Triple-A Indianapolis. He was 0 for 4 and struck out 3 times.
“It felt good. Felt great,” Rodríguez stated. “Tomorrow’s another day, right? … I wasn’t nervous. I saw the ball well.”
Pittsburgh has misplaced 4 in a row, eight of 9 and 11 of 13, falling a season-high 12 video games under .500 at 41-53 after a 20-8 begin. The Pirates had been shut out for the tenth time and held to 4 hits or fewer for the seventeenth time.
Cleveland pitched its ninth shutout, one shy of the massive league excessive.
Following a 47-minute rain delay, Priester gave up one hit within the first 4 innings, a two-run homer to Amed Rosario n the fourth. Bo Naylor doubled into the left-centerfield notch, extending the result in 3-0 within the fifth.
José Ramírez had an RBI double forward of Naylor’s double in a four-run sixth and Andrés Giménez hit a two-run homer.
“I think we were able to see (Priester’s) stuff,” Giménez stated. “Obviously, he was attacking us in the strike zone with the fastball early on. We saw what his pitches were doing. The second time through, we were able to execute.”
FRESH START
Priester, born Sept. 15, 2000, and Rodríguez, born May 26, 2000, turned Major League Baseball’s first beginning battery born 2000 or later, in response to the Elias Sports Bureau. It marked the primary debuting beginning battery for the Pirates since Cookie Cuccurullo pitched to Hank Camelli on Oct. 3, 1943.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: INF Liover Peguero was chosen from Indianapolis. … C Jason Delay, RHP Cody Bolton and OF Josh Palacios had been optioned to Indianapolis. … OF Travis Swaggerty was designated for project.
UP NEXT
Guardians LHP Logan Allen (3-2, 3.47) is about to begin Tuesday in opposition to RHP Mitch Keller (9-4, 3.31), showing for the primary time since permitting a house run within the second inning of the All-Star Game. Allen tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings over his earlier two begins.
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com