Big plays produce big win for Guardians, who down Rays to snap losing streak

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — There seemed to be a debate raging in Cleveland's clubhouse about what was the top play in the Guardians' 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday at Tropicana Field. The obvious candidates were the 424-foot blast by Jhonkensey Noel that put Cleveland up for good in the eighth inning and the stunning fly out in the third inning where second baseman Andres Gimenez tipped the ball while trying a running over-the-shoulder catch and right fielder Will Brennan made a sliding grab to help keep Tampa Bay from having a big inning. The victory helped Cleveland avoid its first four-game losing streak in nearly a year. "That was awesome … since we caught it," Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. "I think (pitching coach) Carl (Willis) even said, 'That's the first time I've ever wrote F4-9 on my (scoring) sheet. You see something new every day in this game and it's just beautiful. "That was just good athletes going out there making a play and (Gimenez) even getting to that ball in the first place was impressive, then Will being ready for the tip drill … you can't draw that stuff up." While the scoring combination on that putout is extremely rare, the home run by Noel also treads in unlikely waters. Noel, who was called up June 26 and became just the fourth player in franchise history to hit a home run in his first major league plate appearance, sent the ball over the left field fence at 110.8 mph. It was the second-hardest home run of the season for Cleveland, behind only the 115.4-mph shot Noel hit June 29 vs. Kansas City. According to STATS LLC, it was the first go-ahead, pinch-hit home run by a Cleveland rookie in the eighth inning or later since Bill Davis on Sept. 9, 1966, vs. the California Angels. "We've seen that a number of times from guys off the bench, they're prepared and our coaching staff does a great job of getting them ready for who they're facing," Vogt said. "Jhonkensy came through again and when he fouled the first fastball off, I mean, a lot of times that's your pitch. Fortunately he got another mistake and didn't miss it. I didn't even see it land because I had other things to do, so I can't wait to go back and watch the replay." While those plays dominated the postgame conversation, there were several other notable performances that kept Cleveland from losing four straight for the first time since July 9-16, 2023 – a run that has stretched over 163 games and is the longest active streak in the majors. Gavin Williams put together a solid performance in his third start of the season after being sidelined for months due to right elbow inflammation; Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor and Gimenez all had multihit games and center fielder Angel Martinez, who made his MLB debut June 21, scored Cleveland's first run in 20 innings with 398-foot shot into the right field stands in the fifth inning. Williams allowed one earned run on three hits through five innings. He had two strikeouts, three walks and turned in his second career pickoff when he caught Jose Caballero off first in the second inning. "I didn't have my best stuff but I tried to compete out there," Williams said. "I changed my grip up a little bit from previous years (turning change-up into backup sliders) and I was able to get in the zone a little bit with that pitch." Gimenez's two-out single in the fifth might not have been as exciting as his assist in the outfield, but it gave Cleveland a 2-1 lead — the Guardians' first since the conclusion of a 9-8 win over Detroit on July 9. "The pitcher was making outstanding pitches and I was just trying to compete," Gimenez said. "When you're at the plate and you're seeing more pitches, your eyes just kind of know. You see how the ball is moving so you get more confidence and get deeper into counts. Then you just try to put the ball in play." Several veterans commented on the "young" energy providing a boost this season, especially since Martinez and Noel are less than a month into their MLB careers and provided the biggest hits Saturday. "I think that's the mindset we have in Triple-A," Noel said through an interpreter. "It starts with the manager, the way he wants us to play the game, play hard and try to win games and obviously it's easy to translate here. The coaches were able to set up a good plan for me and set up the machine to face a lefty and they told me all the things that people try to attack me with. So it was really nice to be able to execute the plan that they suggested for me." Ultimately, Vogt may have given the edge to Noel's towering shot as the play that helped the club the most in Saturday's victory. "Big league hitting is pretty tough," he said. "This guy was doing it all year in Triple-A and he has had quality bats since being called up. But that one … we needed that in such a bad way. When he hit that ball out you just felt this sigh of relief from our group." Contact Shaun Bennett at (440) 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @ShaunBennettct on X.