Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez drove in two runs apiece in Cleveland’s breakout five-run second inning as the Guardians drubbed the host Tampa Bay Rays 7-1 on Friday night.
Ramirez went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and a run, while Kwan finished 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs, two stolen bases and a walk. Austin Hedges homered and Nolan Jones had two hits.
Starter Gavin Williams (10-5) reached double figures in victories by scattering seven hits and yielding one run in seven innings. He whiffed three and walked three.
In reaching .500 (70-70), the American League Central team posted 12 hits and won for just the sixth time in the past 16 games.
Junior Caminero hit a long solo homer and Josh Lowe was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk for Tampa Bay (71-70), which had its season-high winning streak of seven games end.
After failing to retire any of Seattle’s three batters in the Rays’ 6-5 win Tuesday over the Mariners, reliever Griffin Jax opened and worked around two singles in a scoreless first.
Scheduled starter Ian Seymour (3-1) was dealt his first career defeat after allowing five runs (one earned) and five hits in four innings following Jax. He fanned five and walked two.
In the second inning, the visitors grabbed their first lead of the series after Gabriel Arias bunted and reached on a fielding error by Seymour. Kwan ripped a two-run single four batters later, and Ramirez’s double doubled the lead to 4-0. David Fry’s RBI single rounded out the five-run frame, four of which were unearned.
Tampa Bay produced one hit in each of the first five innings but could not plate a baserunner against Williams, who struck out three and walked three.
Facing Brian Van Belle in the sixth, Hedges lifted a towering homer to left, his fifth. The 39-degree launched solo shot made it 6-0. Pinch hitter George Valera recorded his first career RBI with a single later in the inning.
Caminero spoiled the shutout in the sixth by clubbing a 421-foot rocket, his 41st and 103rd RBI.
