Zack Littell dominated Cleveland for six innings, and rookie Logan Driscoll hit his first major league home run, a two-run blast, leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 3-1 victory over the AL Central-leading Guardians on Friday night.
Littell (7-9) gave up just two hits in his second consecutive strong performance. He had previously shut out Baltimore for five innings last week, extending his scoreless innings streak to 13. He is undefeated against the Guardians with a 4-0 record.
Littell’s effort followed Tampa Bay’s bullpen’s shutout of Cleveland in the last seven innings of Thursday’s game.
“We downplayed it a little but we needed a strong outing from the starter and he certainly provided that,” manager Kevin Cash said of Littell, who retired the last 11 batters he faced. “He had to get the off-speed pitches working and he did, and went deep into the game for us.”
The Guardians only managed to score in the eighth inning when rookie Jhonkensy Noel and David Fry hit back-to-back doubles off Mason Montgomery. Fry’s double barely missed being a two-run homer.
Cash brought in Edwin Uceta, back from his two-game suspension for throwing at Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos, to get two outs in the eighth. Uceta then completed a perfect ninth inning for his third save.
“He’s done that every outing but one,” Cash said. “He’s really set the bar high for himself. We’re fortunate to have him and some other young pitchers. They’re getting good experience in this type of environment on this trip.”
With Cleveland’s loss and Kansas City’s win, the Guardians’ division lead was cut to three games. The Guardians have a 1-4 record against the Rays this season.
“This Tampa team knows how to pitch,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us the next two days.”
