Hedges drives in 2 to break tie, put Guardians over Rays 5-3

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Austin Hedges had a tiebreaking two-run single in the fifth inning to help the Cleveland Guardians beat All-Star Game starter Shane McClanahan and the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 on Sunday.

Cleveland won its first series against the Rays since August 2017 and ended a long stretch of games on the road with a 6-5 record.

“It’s big,” Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan said. “I think we played some really good teams (Chicago White Sox, Boston and Tampa Bay). It’s good momentum.”

Reliever Kirk McCarty (2-2) allowed one run, four hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings. Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth to get his 23rd save.

McClanahan (10-4) gave up a career-high five runs, seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings — tying season-low.

“It’s just how humbling the game of baseball is,” McClanahan said. “It was just one of those days where nothing was going my way. Felt like didn’t have much life on anything that I threw. Didn’t make the adjustments and they made me pay for it.”

McClanahan’s major league-best 1.76 ERA climbed to 2.07, and the lefty had his streak of going six or more innings with two earned runs or fewer stop at 13 games.

“We didn’t hit a ton of balls hard but we hit them, and we drove his pitch count up,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. “It was good that not only we drove his pitch count up but we had something to show for it because we kind of pecked him to death, but better than striking out.”

McClanahan threw 96 pitches, which was four from his season high. The four strikeouts were a season low for the ace, who is among the leaders in the majors with 158.

David Peralta, acquired from Arizona on Saturday, started in left field and went 1 for 4 in his Rays debut. Tampa Bay is 3-7 since the All-Star break.

Ryan Thompson replaced McClanahan with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth. After getting an out, he gave up the go-ahead hit to Hedges.

The Guardians went up 3-0 in the second when Myles Straw had a two-run single and José Ramírez picked up his 84th RBI with a base hit.

Tampa Bay responded in the bottom of the second when Isaac Paredes hit a leadoff double, went to third on Bryan Shaw’s wild pitch and scored the first of two Tampa Bay runs when catcher Hedges was charged with an error for an errant throw to third.

Ji-man Choi tied it at 3-3 on a fourth-inning sacrifice fly. He also had a run-scoring grounder during the second.

Shaw allowed two runs, two hits and three walks over two innings in second consecutive start after 732 relief consecutive appearances.

Kwan extended his hitting streak to 14 games on a first-inning bunt single. He also threw out Brandon Lowe, who tried to score from second on Randy Arozarena’s fifth-inning single.

“Kwan with a really good throw probably changed the game a litle bit,” Francona said.

BY THE NUMBERS

Peralta wore wearing No. 6, while INF Taylor Walls switched from 6 to 0. Peralta said 6 was his first big-league number and that he will talk with Walls to “take care of him” for giving up the number.

Walls and OF Mallex Smith (2017-18) are the only Tampa Bay players to wear No. 0.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Guardians: Francona said 1B Josh Naylor was feeling better one day after experiencing numbness in his surgically repaired right ankle. … 1B Owen Miller (bruised right forearm) didn’t play.

Rays: Cash said the reports on closer Nick Anderson’s (right elbow surgery) first outing with Triple-A Durham on Saturday night were encouraging.

UP NEXT

Guardians: RHP Cal Quantrill (7-5) is scheduled to start Monday night’s game against Arizona.

Rays: RHP Drew Rasmussen (6-3) will face Toronto RHP Kevin Gausman (7-8) Tuesday night.

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