Guardians finally come up with big hit in 3-1 win against Giants

SAN FRANCISCO —Tyler Freeman finally delivered the big hit Cleveland’s offense had been seeking throughout the first five games of its seven-game west coast trip, and Emmanuel Clase bounced back from a blown save to slam the door on San Francisco in the ninth inning.

Freeman’s two-run single with the bases loaded off Giants righty Ryan Walker in the sixth Tuesday broke a 1-1 tie and lifted the Guardians to a 3-1 win against the Giants at Oracle Park.

Cleveland’s defense made run-saving play after run-saving play, and Clase pitched a scoreless ninth for his 40th save, one night after failing to protect a one-run lead in a walkoff loss to San Francisco. He became the first Cleveland pitcher with multiple 40-save seasons after posting 42 last year.

The victory snapped a three-game losing skid for the Guardians and marked just the second victory for Cleveland in its last 14 meetings with San Francisco. The Guardians remained 7 1/2 games behind Minnesota in the American League Central Division with 17 games left. Cleveland’s elimination number dropped to 10, however, when the Twins beat Tampa Bay earlier in the day.

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Freeman jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Walker, who entered the game in relief of Sean Manaea after Kole Calhoun reached on a fielding error by LaMonte Wade Jr. at first base. It was San Francisco’s major league leading 100th error this season. Manaea, whose last start came May 10 before spending a month in the Giants bullpen, struck out Freeman to end a 10-pitch at-bat in the first inning with two runners in scoring position.

Freeman went into his at-bat in the sixth with a plan in mind after Cleveland’s offense had struggled to drive in runners over its previous five games.

“I wanted to be aggressive and I got a pitch up and drove it,” Freeman said. “Obviously it’s been a little frustrating this last month, but we’ve just got to keep pushing to the next day, and when these situations come up, we’ve got to make it the most of it.”

Manaea made 33 pitches in the first and 11 in the second and then did not throw more than nine pitches in each of the next three frames, setting down 15 straight Cleveland hitters beginning with a ground out by Calhoun. Jose Ramirez, who had singled off Manaea in the first, snapped the streak with a one-out base hit in the sixth. Josh Naylor grounded into a fielder’s choice and Fry was hit by a pitch before Calhoun reached base on Wade’s error to set up Freeman’s go-ahead single.

Ramirez had one hit in 12 career at-bats against Manaea entering the game, but finished with a pair of singles. In his last six games, Ramirez is batting .417 with a double, home run, an RBI and a 1.064 OPS. Tuesday’s start marked the 1,277th appearance of his career, passing Kenny Lofton for 15th on Cleveland’s all-time games played list.

Guardians starter Cal Quantrill earned his first win since May 7 with six strong innings, scattering five hits and walking three while striking out a pair. Blake Sabol’s solo home run with one out in the fifth was the only run Quantrill allowed.

It was the third straight quality start for Quantrill, who returned from a two-month stint on the injured list at the start of September and has pitched exactly six innings in each subsequent appearance, allowing no more than two runs in any start during that stretch.

Manager Terry Francona said Quantrill won despite admitting he did not command his fastball the way he wanted Tuesday, but more importantly the righty is feeling healthy for the first time this season, and the results show that.

“He’s able to pitch as opposed to kind of trying to find a slot where he can execute and it doesn’t hurt,” Francona said. “And his demeanor, everything’s different, he’s working quicker. This is good for him. He needs to end this season feeling good about himself.”

Quantrill would not make excuses, but said at the major league level, if you are not throwing the way you want to because of an injury, it’s pretty hard to win.

“Other people have dealt with injuries better than I did,” Quantrill said. ”Kind of beat my head against the wall, kept trying to go, go, go. But it’s nice to finally feel like myself again and throw the ball the way I know I’m capable of.”

Cleveland gave Quantrill an early lead, loading the bases with one out in the first and scoring on a fielder’s choice grounder past the mound by Calhoun. Steven Kwan crossed the plate from third as Thario Estrada flipped Calhoun’s grounder to Brandon Crawford, who nearly missed stepping on the bag at second to force David Fry.

Cleveland’s defense backed Quantrill with several tough plays to hold the Giants offense at bay. Naylor made a brilliant diving catch in the sixth on a line drive to first by Pederson and scrambled to his feet to tag Flores who had strayed too far off the bag at first for a double play. Freeman turned a double play to end the fourth after Wade sent a slow grounder to Ramirez at third.

But Myles Straw demonstrated why he is considered a strong candidate to win another Gold Glove Award in center field with three brilliant catches to prevent runs by the Giants.

With Pederson at second and one out in the second, dove head-first to catch a Mitch Haniger pop in shallow center. In the seventh, he ran down a drive by Wade in front of the wall in left center with a runner at first base. His catch against the wall on Sabol’s fly ball to center in the ninth kept the Giants from bringing the tying run to the plate.

Francona said he was not overstating anything about Straw’s defense by calling him “one of the best,” and Straw’s teammates echoed the sentiment.

“When the ball goes out, it’s like there’s a possibility he’s going to catch it no matter if it’s in his zone or whatever,” Freeman said. “There is so much confidence in him. He’s fun to watch.”

Quantrill said Straw provides his pitchers with peace of mind.

“He’s the best in baseball,” Quantrill said. “He locks it down in center field and it just makes you feel good. Especially a pitcher like me. I know I’m going to give up some contact, but with my defense, feel like I’m in a good spot.”

Next: The road trip concludes Wednesday with a 3:45 p.m. first pitch from Oracle Park. Left-hander Logan Allen (7-7, 3.68) will start for Cleveland, while the Giants send lefty Kyle Harrison (1-1, 4.87) to the mound. Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM 1100 AM and the Guardians Radio Network will carry the game.

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