Cleveland’s Zack Littell put on an impressive performance, shutting down the AL Central-leading Guardians for six innings. In addition, rookie Logan Driscoll hit his first career home run, a two-run shot, leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 3-1 victory on Friday night.
With only two hits allowed, Littell continued his streak of strong starts. Last week, he kept Baltimore scoreless for five innings, and he has now thrown 13 consecutive scoreless frames. Notably, Littell remains undefeated in his career against the Guardians, boasting a 4-0 record.
Building on the previous night’s bullpen shutout, the Rays held Cleveland to only two hits and prevented them from scoring until the eighth inning. At that point, rookie Jhonkensy Noel and David Fry hit back-to-back doubles off Mason Montgomery, securing the Guardians’ lone run. Fry’s hit to left field nearly turned into a two-run homer, missing out by mere inches.
In the eighth inning, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash brought in Edwin Uceta, who had just returned from a two-game suspension for throwing at Nick Castellanos of the Philadelphia Phillies. Uceta managed to get two crucial outs and went on to complete a flawless ninth inning, earning his third save of the season.
Cleveland’s loss, combined with Kansas City’s win, has narrowed the Guardians’ division lead to three games.
Rookie Logan Driscoll made a significant impact in the game, hitting a home run off Tanner Bibee (11-8) in the third inning. Despite Bibee’s nine strikeouts, he struggled throughout the match. Alongside Driscoll, Jonathan Aranda also homered for the Rays, who are currently facing a challenging stretch of games against three division leaders: Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Cleveland.
Driscoll’s home run in the second inning followed a near-miss by Jose Siri, whose blast to center field hit the yellow line marking the top of the wall. With Siri on third base after a triple, Driscoll stepped up and delivered a memorable homer. Upon his return to Tampa Bay’s dugout, he was greeted with applause and a tunnel formed by his teammates with raised arms.
In the fourth inning, Aranda’s homer extended the Rays’ lead to 3-0.
Due to fatigue, All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan was absent from the Guardians’ starting lineup. Kwan has been grappling with hamstring issues throughout his career, including a hamstring injury earlier this season. Although he led MLB in batting average at the All-Star break, Kwan has struggled in the second half, entering Friday’s game with only six hits in his last 39 at-bats over the past 11 games.