Above: Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenta Maeda pitches against the Cleveland Guardians in the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Detroit.
Below: Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenta Maeda reacts after giving up a two-run double to Cleveland Guardians’ Andrés Giménez in the third inning of a baseball game.
12:09 JST, July 10, 2024
DETROIT (AP) — Jose Ramirez became the second player to be walked intentionally three times and have three hits in a game since Major League Baseball began tracking free passes in 1955. The Cleveland Guardians defeated the Detroit Tigers 9-8 in 10 innings on Tuesday night.
Ramirez joined Paul Goldschmidt, who accomplished the feat for Arizona against Milwaukee in 2015, Sportradar reported. The Home Run Derby participant is also the first to have three intentional walks in a game since San Diego’s Jake Cronenworth did so nearly three years ago, Sportradar reported.
Josh Naylor hit a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning for his fourth RBI and Brayan Rocchio added a sacrifice fly in the extra inning for the AL Central-leading Guardians who squandered an early 6-0 lead in the game.
Scott Barlow (3-3) gave up a single in the ninth inning for the win and Emmanuel Clase closed the game with his 28th save in 31 chances.
Clase gave up Carson Kelly’s sacrifice fly, allowing the automatic runner who advanced on a groundout to score, and two straight singles before Justyn-Henry Malloy hit a game-ending hit.
Will Vest (1-3) suffered the loss after allowing two runs — one earned — on three hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings.
The Guardians came out on top the day after being eliminated in the season opener, but their pitching forced the game into extra innings.
Angel Martinez and Naylor hit homers in a three-run first. Ramirez had an RBI single with one of his three hits in a three-run third.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenta Maeda watches from the dugout against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Detroit.
Both starting pitchers gave up six runs and seven hits, with Cleveland getting Kenta Maeda early in the game and the Tigers getting Ben Lively late in his game.
Maeda, who allowed three runs on four hits in his first 14 pitches, lasted just 2 2/3 innings, spoiling a night in which he joined Yu Darvish and Hideo Nomo as the three Japanese-born Major Leaguers with 1,000 strikeouts.
Lively started off relatively strong, but gave up a two-run homerun to Colt Keith in the third inning and a three-run homerun to Gio Urshela in the sixth inning.
Nick Sandlin came in for Lively and gave up a home run to Malloy, a rookie who had jumped the fence five times in 28 games, tying the score.
