It was a back and forth affair between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Friday night, as the two division rivals traded the lead three times over the course of the evening before the host Guardians were able to escape with a 6-5 victory. Rookie outfielder Riley Greene led the way for the Tigers with the second home run of his young MLB career along with an RBI double.
Cleveland has now won both games to being their four-game set against Detroit, who swept them at Comerica Park earlier this month in four straight.
The Guardians appeared on their way to a blowout victory, taking a quick 3-0 lead over the Tigers and pitcher Drew Hutchison, who was eventually able to settle into the contest. Meanwhile, it was Greene who got Detroit’s rally going with a solo shot off Zach Plesac, followed by RBI hits from Harold Castro and Willi Castro. Greene would once again connect for a two-run RBI double, giving Detroit a comfortable 5-3 lead.
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However, Cleveland clawed their way back into the game after getting to reliever Michael Fulmer; they re-took the lead after a bloop single from Andres Gimenez.
Riley Greene was strong, but Cleveland emerged victorious
“They did a better job of winning the at-bats,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “They came through with the big hit on a backup slider that didn’t get executed with two strikes. We’ll get back at it tomorrow, but it’s a tough loss.”
“I mean, you know it’s baseball and things aren’t going to go our way sometimes,” Riley Greene explained. “That’s what happened… it’s just the game of baseball. It’s just time to turn the page. You can’t go back in time and re-do anything, what’s done is done. You can’t change anything, and you just have to focus on what you’re doing today.”
The Tigers and Guardians will resume their series this afternoon starting at 4:10 PM EST with coverage on Bally Sports Detroit and 97.1 The Ticket. It will be right-hander Michael Pineda who takes the mound for Detroit, and he’ll be going up against Cleveland’s Cal Quantrill.
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