Pinch-hitter Lane Thomas on Tuesday delivered a tiebreaking double to spark a six-run 12th inning as the Cleveland Guardians outlasted the New York Yankees 9-5 in the longest major-league game so far this season.
“Sometimes that’s all it takes to get something going like that,” said Thomas, who drove in his first run since July 28. “We left some guys on in the game today and maybe just saved it all for one inning.”
Both teams began the night in first place and the tense opener of their three-game series at Yankee Stadium had the feel of a potential playoff preview.
Photo: AFP
Juan Soto and Aaron Judge hit back-to-back homers in the first inning, but Cleveland came right back and the game was tied at 3-3 after four innings.
Despite numerous chances on both sides, neither offense scored again until the 12th.
Thomas was hitting .113 (six for 53) in 16 games with the Guardians when he batted for Bo Naylor leading off the 12th and lined a 2-2 sinker from left-hander Tim Mayza (0-2) into right field to score automatic runner Daniel Schneemann from second.
“I think it was huge for him,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “Obviously, it’s a huge hit for us. We left a couple of people in scoring position tonight. It was just something that we needed and for him to come though, I know that’s going to be big for him. And it catapulted that huge inning.”
Jose Ramirez, intentionally walked in the 10th, followed with an RBI single off Michael Tonkin. After a walk to Tyler Freeman, David Fry laced a bases-loaded triple that made it 8-3.
“Really cool to see,” Fry said about Thomas’ clutch swing. “I think we were all thinking he was going to do it. It’s all we need. We just need one to kind of let everybody loosen up and get the rest of the big hits.”
Guardians rookie Jhonkensy Noel added an RBI infield single when Tonkin was slow to cover first base.
Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase pitched two innings for the first time this season and retired Alex Verdugo with two on to end the 10th.
Tim Herrin (5-0) was aided by Schneemann’s leaping catch in right field on Austin Wells’ drive and stranded two runners in the 11th.
Scott Barlow allowed Judge’s two-run double before finishing a game that lasted 4 hours, 5 minutes — the longest in the big leagues so far this year.
“What an unbelievable game by both,” Vogt said. “Just one team had to outlast the other and fortunately it was us.”
The Yankees dropped a half-game behind the Orioles atop the American League East after Baltimore beat the New York Mets 9-5 at Citi Field.
Cleveland increased their AL Central lead to 3.5 games over the Kansas City Royals, who lost 9-5 to the Los Angeles Angels, and the Minnesota Twins, who were defeated 7-5 by the San Diego Padres.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, it was:
‧ Astros 5, Red Sox 6
‧ Athletics 0, Rays 1
‧ Blue Jays 10, Reds 3
‧ Braves 3, Phillies 1
‧ Cardinals 2, Brewers 3
‧ Cubs 3, Tigers 1
‧ Dodgers 6, Mariners 3
‧ Giants 4, White Sox 1
‧ Marlins 1, Diamondbacks 3
‧ Nationals 1, Rockies 3
‧ Rangers 0, Pirates 4
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS