Guardians shut out for third time in 10 games as Orioles even series

CLEVELAND — The Guardians haven't done a whole lot of hitting over the past couple of weeks. Wednesday night at Progressive Field, it cost them a game. Managing only five hits, Cleveland was shut out for the third time in 10 games, losing 4-0 to Baltimore, which evened the series at a game apiece. The first-place Guardians, who played in front of a sparse crowd of 12,221 (tickets sold) have scored only 27 runs over their last 10 games, plating three runs or fewer in six of them. This time around it was Orioles starting pitcher Jordan Lyles shutting down Cleveland hitters after entering the night owning a bulky 4.45 ERA over 26 starts. The right-hander limited the Guardians to only four hits over 6⅔ innings, holding them to two hits over the first four innings. Cleveland loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, but catcher Luke Maile hit into a fielder's choice out to end the inning. Maile was in the middle of another scoring chance after Richie Palacios started the seventh with a single, but he followed by bouncing sharply into a double play. "For the lack of hits, we had some traffic (on the bases) but it was all with two outs and we couldn't get a big hit," manager Terry Francona said. "Maile squared up that ball (in the seventh) that looked like it had a chance and it ended up being a double play." Lyles retired seven of the last nine batters he faced, while the Guardians mustered only two hits over the final four innings. Cleveland starter Triston McKenzie only allowed two runs, but he struggled with command and lasted just five innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks. After two scoreless innings, McKenzie unraveled in the third, throwing 31 pitches and forcing in the game's first run on a walk with the bases loaded. The fourth began with McKenzie surrendering the first career hit to one of Baltimore's top prospects, Gunnar Henderson, who made it 2-0 with a solo home run to right-center that traveled an estimated 429 feet. "He was at 97 pitches after five (innings)," Francona said of McKenzie, who worked the shortest outing of his last 11 starts. "That tells you right there that something didn't go as planned." "I felt like I could've attacked the strike zone a lot more early in the counts," McKenzie said. "I felt like I did a good job attacking the zone throughout the whole game, but I felt like I fell behind a lot and just kind of put them in positions to where they could foul off pitches until they got what they wanted to hit." Despite taking the loss, McKenzie has posted a 2.24 ERA over his last 11 starts. Cleveland's bullpen saw its streak without allowing an earned run come to an end at 32⅓ innings when Ramon Urias hit a two-run homer off Eli Morgan with two outs in the eighth to provide the final count. The streak stands as the longest in the majors this season. It was the 10th homer in 39 appearances off Morgan, who looked indecisive after throwing to first with a 3-2 count on Urias. "He got to a 3-2 count and I think he didn't know what pitch to throw," Francona said of Morgan. "He ended up throwing the fastball and got hit. I just think he gave up a home run. He got to the full count, that was probably the problem." Left fielder Steven Kwan produced another defensive highlight in the second when he leapt against the wall to make a catch, then threw to relay man Amed Rosario to start a double play. It came five days after Kwan went into the stands in Seattle to make an acrobatic snare. "That kid's unbelievable, man," Francona said. "I mean after just about breaking his ribs the other day, he was like Spider-Man." The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak against the Orioles at home, accounting for Baltimore's first victory in Cleveland since May 17, 2019. Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on Twitter.