PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Manzardo hit a pinch-hit homer off Phillies closer Jhoan Duran in the ninth inning to preserve a terrific outing for starter Gavin Williams and lead the Cleveland Guardians to a 1-0 win over Philadelphia on Friday night.
Cade Smith worked a scoreless ninth for his 19th save in a game that needed just 2 hours, 5 minutes.
Cristopher Sánchez and Williams matched up in a classic pitchers’ duel where each tossed eight shutout innings in front of 38,092 fans on a rainy night. They were the first opposing starters to each pitch at least eight scoreless innings since Miami’s Ryan Weathers and Detroit’s Reese Olson on May 14, 2024.
Manzardo made Williams (7-3) a winner when the left-handed hitter launched a homer the opposite way to left off Duran (1-2).
Sánchez tossed four-hit ball over eight innings and struck out six. He threw 96 pitches and lowered his ERA to a staggering 1.62 on the season.
Coming off his first shutout of the season, Sánchez ran his scoreless streak to 37 2/3 innings, which moved him past Cliff Lee (34 innings) into second place and within striking distance of the franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings. Grover Alexander tossed 41 straight innings in one stretch in the 1911 season.
Williams was just as stout. He struck out 11 and walked none.
He made NL batting champion Trea Turner look bad on flailed check-swing on a sweeper for his ninth strikeout. He then froze Kyle Schwarber, back in the lineup after missing three games with an illness, on a 97.5 mph sinker for his 10th strikeout.
Sánchez and the Phillies avoided a scary moment when third baseman Alec Bohm crashed hard into catcher J.T. Realmuto as they circled Petey Halpin’s foul pop. Bohm made the catch and Realmuto stayed down on one knee for a bit until he stood up, winked at Bohm to signify all was good and stayed in the game.
Realmuto even singled off Williams with one out in the eighth inning. Williams then retired the left-handed rookie Justin Crawford to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Up next
The Guardians sent RHP Slade Cecconi (3-4, 5.16 ERA) to the mound against Phillies RHP Zack Wheeler (3-0, 1.99 ERA). Heavy rain in the forecast could wipe this one out early.
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