TAMPA, Fla. – José Ramírez continues to make history in baseball. The outstanding player surpassed Jim Thome to secure second place on Cleveland’s all-time RBI list, guiding the Guardians to a crucial 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Ramírez hit a triple that tied the score in the sixth inning, driving in two runs against Garrett Cleavinger (1-5), reaching 938 RBIs in his career. Now, only Earl Averill, with 1,084, is ahead of him.
In the same inning, Gabriel Arias hit a single against Kevin Kelly, allowing David Fry to score, after a daring headfirst slide that avoided the throw from right fielder Josh Lowe.
Cleavinger, who started the sixth inning, came in with an impressive streak of 20 scoreless innings, the longest active streak in the Major Leagues. The earned run broke his streak of invincibility since last July 5th.
Cleveland (72-70) took the series by winning the last three games of the four-game series against the Rays (71-72). Seattle (75-68) leads the fight for the third and final wild card.
The game had an attendance of 8,155 spectators, being the sixteenth time in 74 home games that the Rays did not fill Steinbrenner Field, which has a capacity of 10,046 people.
Left-handed pitcher Parker Messick (2-0), 24, in his fourth major league start, allowed one run and eight hits in six innings, with four strikeouts and no walks.
Cade Smith struck out the three batters in the ninth inning, securing his 11th save in 16 opportunities.
