José Ramírez hit two home runs, bringing his season total to 26, and added an RBI double, helping the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians secure an 8-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.
“He just continues to amaze me on a nightly basis,” said Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt.
Ramírez’s second home run was the 242nd of his career, tying him with Albert Belle for second place in Cleveland’s history behind Jim Thome, who has 337. Ramírez now has 25 games with multiple home runs, just one behind Thome and Belle.
“The most important part of trying to win,” Ramírez said.
Tanner Bibee (9-4) kept the Tigers scoreless until the seventh inning, when they got three straight hits, including Dillon Dingler’s RBI double in his major league debut. Bibee, who allowed two runs on seven hits in six-plus innings, was pulled after the inning.
All-Star Josh Naylor, who had rested for the previous three games, scored a run when his brother, Bo, hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning to put Cleveland ahead 7-0.
On the eve of the trade deadline, the Guardians acquired outfielder Lane Thomas from Washington.
“One of our goals heading into the deadline was to try to find a way to lengthen the lineup and add some offense,” said Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti.
Cleveland, with one of the highest winning percentages, is also looking for starting pitching. Detroit is expected to trade at least one player to strengthen a contender’s rotation.
Right-hander Jack Flaherty was scheduled to start against the Guardians but was scratched four-plus hours before the game.
“This time of year is pretty stressful and putting him on the mound tonight felt like the wrong thing to do for him and for us,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch.
Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris will need to decide if it’s a good idea to trade All-Star Tarik Skubal, who has a record of 12-3 with a 2.35 ERA.
Trading 28-year-old Flaherty, who has a one-year contract worth $14 million and will become a free agent, seems reasonable for a team currently in fourth place and still rebuilding.
“He’s a really good pitcher, I know that, and it’s never fun facing him,” Antonetti said. “I’m sure if Scott decides it’s the right thing for the Tigers to trade Skubal, he’ll get a great return for him.”
Flaherty has a record of 7-5 in 18 starts with a 2.95 ERA. Since his major league debut with St. Louis in 2017, he is 49-39 with a 3.64 ERA. St. Louis traded him almost a year ago to Baltimore, and he’s preparing for another possible move.
“Having dealt with it last year makes it easier,” he said. “You just go out and try to make pitches and execute in the game. That’s all you can do. Everything else is just part of the game. You start to realize that as you get into it.”
Before the game, Detroit made several moves, including placing shortstop Javier Báez on the medical emergency list to attend to family matters.
Beau Brieske (1-2) got only two outs and allowed three runs and five hits in the first inning.
Detroit called up Bryan Sammons from Triple-A Toledo, and the 29-year-old lefty gave up five runs and four hits over 7 1/3 innings in his major league debut.
