A rally has to start somewhere. Austin Hedges figured Wednesday’s comeback might as well start with him.
Hedges laid down a perfect bunt along the third base line against New York starter Jose Quintana after Quintana had dominated the Guardians, holding them scoreless through 5 1/3 innings.
The bunt sparked Cleveland’s offense, and when all was said and done, Hedges and his teammates emerged with a 6-3 victory and a series sweep at Progressive Field, their first against the Mets.
The Guardians moved to 33-17 and remained atop the American League Central Division, going a perfect 6-0 on their homestand against New York and Minnesota.
Rookie outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez delivered an RBI single in the seventh off Mets reliever Reed Garrett (5-1) for his first big league hit. The single to right scored David Fry with the go-ahead run, and the Guardians added a pair of runs in the eighth before handing things over to their bullpen.
Cleveland relievers locked things down behind Hunter Gaddis and Sam Hentges with closer Emmanuel Clase unavailable after pitching three straight days. Gaddis (3-1) picked up the win with three strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings and Hentges struck out Jeff McNeil with the tying run in scoring position in the eighth before Cade Smith earned his first career save with a scoreless ninth.
Rodriguez, who was minutes away from boarding a flight to Omaha with Triple-A Columbus at the start of the week, instead capped the homestand in grand fashion. But not before Andrés Giménez made sure the team that originally signed him in 2015 did not leave town without a parting gift. Giménez’s three-run blast off Quintana in the sixth inning tied the score at 3 and set the stage for Rodriguez’s heroics.
Giménez, acquired from the Mets as part of a trade for Francisco Lindor after the 2020 season, sent a 3-1 fastball from Quintana into the seats in right center for his fourth home run, snapping an 0 for 19 skid against his former club.
Cleveland added two runs against Mets righty Adam Ottavino in the eighth on RBI doubles by José Ramírez and Kyle Manzardo.
Quintana, making his first start in Cleveland since 2017, was seeking his fourth win in 10 career starts at Progressive Field. The left-hander entered with the lowest career ERA by a visiting pitcher with at least 50 innings in the ballpark’s history (1.71) and stymied Cleveland’s lineup through 5 1/3 innings before the Guardians broke through.
Fry ripped a first-pitch single off Quintana in the second to give him six hits on the homestand. But after a Gabriel Arias strikeout, McNeil snagged a smash up the middle by Rodriguez, stepped on second and threw to first to complete an inning-ending double play.
Cleveland did not collect another base hit until the sixth when Hedges dropped down a perfect bunt that died along the third base line with one out. He moved to third on Tyler Freeman’s double with two out before Giménez homered for his first hit of the series, snapping an 0 for 12 skid and making him the third Guardians player with at least 30 RBI.
Guardians starter Triston McKenzie labored in the first, throwing 11 pitches to Lindor before finally getting him on a fly ball to center. But Pete Alonso turned around the first pitch he saw from McKenzie for his 11th home run, and singles by Brandon Nimmo and DJ Stewart put two runners on before McKenzie got Mark Vientos to pop out and end the inning.
Alonso’s blast was McKenzie’s seventh home run allowed this season and the fourth in his last five starts, but it was not the last one he would allow.
McNeil opened the second with a solo home run to right, his second of the series. McKenzie hit Harrison Bader in the back with his next pitch, and Bader expressed his displeasure as he made his way to first base. But cooler heads prevailed as Bader was headed off by home plate umpire Emil Jimenez.
The officiating crew got together near the mound as Bader took his base, but did not issue a warning at that time.
Bader got his revenge in the fourth when he homered to deep left on a 1-1 curveball for his second extra-base hit of the series. Bader, who torched Cleveland with three home runs and a 1.256 OPS in five games as a member of the Yankees in the 2022 AL Division Series, entered the game with just one regular season home run against the Guardians.
Next: The Guardians are off Thursday before starting a six-game road trip to Los Angeles and Colorado. First pitch Friday from Angels Stadium is set for 9:38 p.m. The game will air on Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM 1100 AM, WMMS 100.7 FM and the Guardians Radio Network.
