Nolan Jones helps Guardians to second straight walk-off win

CLEVELAND — Out of nowhere, Nolan Jones is becoming an offensive force. The light-hitting right fielder clouted a solo homer in the seventh inning and doubled in the ninth in the Guardians' 5-4 come-from-behind victory over the Seattle Mariners before 32,012 fans at Progressive Field. Cleveland won it in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth when Steven Kwan's sacrifice fly scored Brayan Rocchio from third. Rocchio's single drove in Jones, who came into Friday's game batting a meager .215. He moved to second on the throw and to third on a throwing error by left fielder Randy Arozarena. Rocchio's 22 RBIs since the All-Star break lead the club. It was Kwan's third career walk-off hit and the Guardians' seventh of the season. They've recorded back-to-back walk-off wins for the first time since Sept. 18-19, 2024, vs. Minnesota. Cleveland (67-66), which has won three in a row, is four games out of the final American League wild card spot. "We all know what's at stake," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. Left-hander Tim Herrin (5-3, 4.84 ERA) earned the victory with an inning of relief. Seattle closer Andres Munoz (3-2, 1.72) suffered the loss by allowing two runs in the ninth, one unearned. "This feels special to me, especially how it started," Kwan said. Cleveland designated hitter Kyle Manzardo belted his 22nd homer in the sixth inning, a 395-foot shot into the right-field bleachers, to get the Guardians on the scoreboard. It was his 16th solo shot of the season. An inning later, Jones bashed his fifth long ball of the season an estimated 402 feet to dead center. After 142 homerless at-bats from June 13 to Aug. 27, he's homered in consecutive games for the third time in his career. His defense also played a role in the victory. Arozarena doubled off the right-field wall to lead off the eighth. Jones retrieved the ball and gunned down Seattle's leadoff hitter at third base. He has 30 outfield assists since the start of the 2023 season, second in the majors to Kwan's 31. "I made a bad read and got too close to the wall," Jones said. "It jumped over my head. I picked it up and threw as hard as I could. I made up for a bad play." Kwan, who leads the AL in outfield assists, said he thinks Jones has the strongest arm in the big leagues. Jones said he's been getting more opportunities to play right field. "I'm trying to take advantage of it," he said. The Mariners jumped on Guardians left-hander Logan Allen for five hits and four runs in the first before Cleveland even came to bat. Julio Rodriguez and Eugenio Suarez had run-scoring singles and Jorge Polanco followed with a two-run homer, as Seattle opened up a 4-0 bulge. Polanco's 21st homer traveled an estimated 348 feet. However, Allen allowed just one hit after. He pitched six innings and allowed four earned runs, six hits and three walks. He struck out five batters. The lefty threw 100 pitches, 56 for strikes. "I was able to go six innings and give the team a chance," Allen said. "I kept the team in it. I've been trying to go deeper in games." The Guardians scratched for their third run in the eighth when Angel Martinez's seeing-eye single drove in Jose Ramirez from third to cut their deficit to 4-3. Cleveland shortstop Gabriel Arias exited the game in the second inning with a right-hand contusion. Seattle starter George Kirby's inside pitch seemed to hit off the knob of Arias' bat, as umpires initially called him out when the ball trickled out to the pitcher, who threw him out at first. However, they changed their minds and said the ball hit Arias in the hand. He immediately cringed in pain and was attended to by the trainer. X-rays were negative. He was replaced at first by Martinez. Ramirez doubled in the first, which marked his 826th hit at Progressive Field. He moved past Omar Vizquel's 825 for the most in stadium history since its opening in 1994. Kirby went seven innings and allowed two runs, six hits and no walks. The right-hander struck out six. "George is probably one of the best strike throwers in baseball," Vogt said. "He comes right after you with five pitches. He's a big frame, really lanky and it's coming at you. He's not afraid of the strike zone." It was Seattle's sixth consecutive loss on the road. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com.