The Cincinnati Reds scored three runs in the eighth winning for a 4-2 victory over the host Cleveland Guardians on Thursday.
The Reds swept the series and have won eight of their past 12 games. Cleveland has lost five of six.
Cincinnati jumped all over reliever Trevor Stephan (2-1), who was rocked for three runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning in the eighth.
It ruined an outstanding start by right-hander Cal Quantrill, who surrendered one run on five hits in seven innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five.
It was the fifth consecutive start in which he’s gone at least six innings, but he hasn’t won since April 10.
Tyler Naquin, Colin Moran and Kyle Farmer led off the eighth with singles, which pushed across the go-ahead run. Stephan hurt his own cause when he fielded a sacrifice bunt by Albert Almora Jr. and threw it wildly at first, which allowed the second run of the inning to score.
Farmer scored on a sacrifice fly by T.J. Friedl for a 4-1 lead.
Naquin continues to haunt his former team. He slammed a solo homer in the fifth, his fourth on the season, to tie the score at 1-1.
The Guardians opened scoring in the second. Owen Miller doubled and moved to third on an infield single by Amed Rosario. Miller came home on a deep fly ball to center by Franmil Reyes for a 1-0 lead.
Reyes was robbed in the fifth when his long drive headed for the center-field wall was caught by Almora.
The Guardians rallied for one run in the eighth when Jose Ramirez’s single drove in Myles Straw. Ramirez was taken out of the game after his single. He fouled a pitch off his right shin earlier in the at-bat off reliever Alexis Diaz.
Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle retired 14 batters in a row before Steven Kwan walked in the sixth. However, he left with a no-decision after 6 1/3 innings and allowed two hits, one earned run and two walks. The right-hander struck out four batters.
Luis Cessa (2-0) earned the win with two-thirds of an inning of relief in the seventh.
–Field Level Media
