*Photo from WKYC*
One of baseball's best stories this season is headed to October. Gabriel Arias drove in two runs, Steven Kwan hit a grand slam, and the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Texas Rangers with a 10-4 victory on Sunday afternoon in Arlington.
The biggest contributors in the latest Guardians win were Kwan and Arias, who combined to drive in 7 of the 10 runs scored by the Guardians in the win. They've been on a run of impressive form lately, picking up their 7th straight win to sweep the Rangers, holding a 86-67 record this season.
With the win, the Guardians also clinched the AL Central Title. It's their first title since 2018, and they ran away with it after being tied on September 4, thanks to 7 straight wins. It's even more impressive that they've done it with 16 rookies making big league debuts this season, and being MLB's youngest team.
Cleveland starter Cal Quantrill said that "This team’s good. We’re not just young. We’re pretty good. I don’t think anybody’s excited to face us right now. We’re playing our best baseball. We’re playing baseball the right way."
Kwan started the scoring in the 3rd inning, making it 1-0 on an RBI single. Oscar Gonzalez added an RBI single, and a fielders choice plus error drove in two more, making it 4-0 Guardians after 3 innings. Adolis Garcia got the Rangers on the board with a 4th inning sac fly. Josh Smith hit a sac fly one inning later, cutting the Rangers deficit to 4-2.
With two runners on base in the 6th inning, Arias drove them both in, tripling to center field and making the lead 6-2. In the 8th, the Guardians had the bases loaded, and Kwan broke it wide open, blasting a grand slam to make it a 10-2 game. Two runs scored for the Rangers in the bottom of the 8th thanks to a fielders choice plus error, making the final score 10-4 in favor of Cleveland.
Guardians catcher Austin Hedges said of how the season has gone that "We don’t look at ourselves as underdogs, but I know everybody else thought we were. And I don’t blame them. We’re young. Who would have thought? But we believed in ourselves and we’re going to continue to shock the world."
Getting the division clinching win for the Guardians was Aaron Civale. He ended his start with a line of two runs on 3 hits, striking out 7 hitters in 5 innings, walking no one. Kirk McCarty came on and fired two scoreless innings. Bryan Shaw allowed two runs in the 8th, while James Karinchak worked a scoreless 9th inning to seal the win.
Rookie Cole Ragans started for the Rangers, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits over 5 innings, taking the loss. John King came on and allowed two runs in two innings pitched. Joe Barlow allowed 4 runs while getting just two outs, while Dennis Santana worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Up next, the Guardians have a day off on Monday before welcoming the Tampa Bay Rays into town on Tuesday, with Triston McKenzie starting. The Rangers hit the road for a series against the Seattle Mariners starting on Tuesday, with no announced starter.
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