Guardians Clobber Diamondbacks

Myles Straw of the Cleveland Guardians celebrates with teammates during a 12–3 rout of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images

June 18, 2023

Guardians 12, Diamondbacks 3

PHOENIX, June 18 — The lights dimmed in the bottom of the first, indicative of the way the Arizona Diamondbacks played Sunday afternoon against the Cleveland Guardians. But the lights shone brightly on Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor, who went 4-for-5 with a double and three RBI in the blowout victory. Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee pitched the five innings required for a starter to get the victory, allowing three runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out six.

“It was just a rough day,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo sighed afterwards. “I’m glad it’s over. I was very pleased with how we’ve been playing baseball up until today. But from the first pitch of the game until the last one, it just didn’t have a rhythm to it.”

Guardians Tee Off Early and Often, Diamondbacks Fall into Deep Hole

Embed from Getty Images

The Guardians took advantage of an error in the top of the first. Left fielder Steven Kwan, after a seven-pitch at-bat, hit a sharp grounder to short that Nick Ahmed couldn’t handle. Two batters later, designated hitter Jose Ramirez grounded a one-out triple to the right-field corner, bringing Kwan around for an unearned run. First baseman Josh Naylor followed with a double to right, scoring Ramirez and giving the Guardians a 2–0 lead.

The game took a strange turn in the bottom of the first. With two outs and nobody on, the lights suddenly dimmed after the eighth pitch to center fielder Corbin Carroll. A 15-minute delay ensued, after which Carroll went down chasing a high 3–2 fastball. The team later released a statement that the light problem was due to a power surge for their downtown power grid.

The Guardians expanded their lead in the top of the second. Right fielder Will Brennan led off with a single and advanced to third on a one-out single by center fielder Myles Straw. Kwan drove them both in with a triple to the corner in deep right-center. A sacrifice fly by shortstop Amed Rosario plated Kwan, giving the Guardians a 5–0 lead.

One Step Forward, Six Steps Back

Embed from Getty Images

Christian Walker got the Diamondbacks on the board in the bottom of the second with a leadoff homer, his 15th of the season. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed with a single to right and advanced to third on two wild pitches. But the Diamondbacks could not bring him home, and the inning ended with the Diamondbacks in a 5–1 hole.

That hole turned into an oil well in the top of the fourth, with the Guardians getting all the proceeds. Catcher Bo Naylor walked and advanced to third on a single to right by Straw. Kwan grounded into a 6–4 force play, scoring Naylor. Rosario singled, advancing Kwan to second. Ramirez advanced Kwan to third with a fly to right before Josh Naylor singled to center, driving in Kwan with his third hit of the game.

Exit stage right for Davies. Enter Jose Ruiz, whom second baseman Andres Gimenez welcomed with a triple, the third of the game for the Guardians. Rosario and Josh Naylor both scored before third baseman Tyler Freeman doubled Gimenez home. A single to center by Brennan brought Freeman across, bringing up Bo Naylor for the second time in the inning. His grounder to second retired the side with the Guardians holding an 11–1 lead.

The Bleeding Stops

It became 12–1 in the top of the fifth on a Straw walk, a 6–4 Kwan fielder’s choice ground ball, a Rosario single to center, and a two-out Josh Naylor single to center — his fourth hit of the game. The Diamondbacks made it 12–3 in the bottom of the fifth after a single off the pitcher by shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, a single to center by Emmanuel Rivera, a 3–6 fielder’s choice force play grounder by Carroll, and a two-run double to left by Walker.

Drey Jameson, Austin Adams, and Josh Rojas — who pinch-ran for Walker after the two-run double — combined for four scoreless innings of relief for the Diamondbacks. Eli Morgan, Tim Herrin, and Daniel Norris, meanwhile, pulled off the same feat for the Guardians.

Josh Naylor

This was the second four-hit game of Josh Naylor’s career, which is now in its fifth season. His first four-hit game came nearly three weeks ago — May 31 — in a 12–8 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, when he also went 4-for-5. In the Orioles game, he fell short of the cycle by a triple, notching a single, two doubles, and a home run while driving in six runs and scoring three himself. Naylor is now slashing .288 (66-for-229)/.331/.450 on the season. Since May 12, when he started the day slashing .191/.244/.304, he has slashed .386 (44-for-114)/.419/.596.

Quick Hits

Rojas had much better luck Sunday than he did when he position-pitched the ninth on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies. In that game, he allowed four runs on five hits. … Christian Walker, by going 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, and three RBI, has continued his hot streak. From May 31 through Sunday, he has slashed .355 (22-for-62)/.408/.729 with nine doubles, four homers, 14 RBI, six walks, a hit-by-pitch, a sacrifice fly, and nine runs scored. Over that span, his batting average has risen 28 points, from .242 to .270.

Looking Ahead

Bibee (3–2) earned the win, while Davies (1–3) took the loss. The Diamondbacks (43–29, first in NL West) and Guardians (33–38, second in AL Central) both head east now, the Diamondbacks to Milwaukee and the Guardians back home to Cleveland. After a much-needed Monday off-day, the Guardians will open a six-game homestand with a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics (19–55, fifth in AL West). Aaron Civale (2–2, 2.67 ERA) will take the hill for the Guardians against Athletics right-hander Luis Medina (1–6, 7.55 ERA). First pitch will be at 7:10 pm Eastern.

The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, begin a seven-game road trip with a three-game series against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers (37–34). The first game will also be a battle of right-handers, Merrill Kelly (8–3, 3.04 ERA) for the Diamondbacks and Corbin Burnes (5–4, 3.44 ERA) for the Brewers. First pitch will be at 5:10 pm Arizona Time. This will be an MLB Network national telecast outside of the Arizona and Milwaukee markets, where viewers can see the game on Bally Sports Arizona and Bally Sports Wisconsin, respectively.