The Cleveland Guardians (51-4) defeated the Tampa Bay Rays (53-47) 4-1 on Friday night at Tropicana Field.
Ji-Man Choi got the scoring started with a RBI single in the bottom of the first that gave Tampa Bay an early 1-0 lead. Unfortunately for the home team, that would be their only offense on the night.
Cleveland tied the game with a RBI double from Andres Gimenez in the fourth, before taking a 3-1 lead with a two-run Jose Ramirez home run in the fifth. Ramirez added a RBI single in the seventh to lift Cleveland to a 4-1 lead which would be the final score.
Jeffrey Springs (3-3, 2.70) got the start and allowed three earned runs on six hits in five innings of work while striking out five and walking one. Shane Bieber (5-6, 3.41) kept the Rays bats guessing all night - after allowing Ji-Man's RBI single in the first, he did not allow another run all night. He finished with seven innings in which he allowed one earned run on five hits while striking out eight and walking two.
The Rays will now look to even the three game series against Cleveland when they meet in game two on Saturday afternoon. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 1:10 PM - Neil Solondz begins pregame coverage at 12:30 PM on 95.3 WDAE & AM 620.
PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES