Ben Lively struck out six batters in six innings to lead the Cleveland Guardians to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night. This game featured two of the top teams in baseball.
The Phillies returned home for the first time since the All-Star break but couldn’t shake off their recent offensive struggles.
Philadelphia, which leads MLB with a 64-39 record, lost for the fifth time in seven games since the break and the seventh time in their last 10 games. After the break, the Phillies lost two out of three games in Pittsburgh and Minnesota.
The Phillies looked out of sorts against the Guardians (62-41), who, with this win, moved ahead of the Baltimore Orioles for the best record in the American League and led the AL Central. Philadelphia made two errors, messed up a rundown, missed playable ground balls, and argued with umpires throughout the game.
“Our pregame work was crisp and guys had a lot of energy,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “But we’ve got to throw the ball accurately. We’ve got to cover all our assignments. We didn’t do that early.”
The Phillies are hoping to improve their team with new additions.
Philadelphia traded for outfielder Austin Hays from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for struggling right-handed pitcher Seranthony Domínguez and light-hitting outfielder Cristian Pache.
Hays, who was picked by the Orioles in the third round of the 2016 MLB draft, played 557 games for Baltimore over parts of seven seasons. He had 121 doubles, eight triples, 66 home runs, 242 RBIs, and 126 walks.
Hays, the starting center fielder in the 2023 All-Star Game for the AL, has only three home runs and 14 RBIs in 63 games this season with Baltimore.
“We’ve liked Hays for a few years. I actually tried to acquire him the last two trading deadlines and we’ve been asked for much more than we wanted to give,” team president Dave Dombrowski said.
“I know he hasn’t played all that much this year; he’s been squeezed out of some playing time because of all the good young outfielders they have.”
Thomson mentioned that Hays might have the chance to become the starting left fielder. Hays watched from the dugout with his new teammates during the first game of a three-game series against the Guardians. Hays was expected to start on Saturday against Cleveland right-hander Carlos Carrasco.
“I’m going to a place where somebody’s wanted me for a few years, so that’s good to know,” Hays said.
The Phillies could have used some extra hitting: Guardians reliever Cade Smith got All-Star shortstop Trea Turner to pop up to shortstop, leaving runners stranded on the corners to end the seventh inning.
Emmanuel Clase pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 32nd save.
Lively (9-6) allowed Bryson Stott’s solo homer in the fifth inning that made it 3-1 but was otherwise solid. He gave up three hits and walked two batters, winning for the first time since July 4.
“Ben has a big personality. He’s competitive,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He’s a huge part of what we do. I couldn’t be more happy for him.”
NL All-Star Cristopher Sánchez (7-6) gave up eight hits, three runs, and committed an error over six innings.
David Fry had an RBI single in the first inning, Bo Naylor scored a run on a squeeze play, and Angel Martínez had an RBI single in the fourth to give Cleveland a 3-0 lead.
