CLEVELAND (AP) — David Fry hit a three-run homer, José Ramírez had a two-run shot and the Cleveland Guardians hammered the Baltimore Orioles 10-3 on Thursday night in a matchup of two of the AL’s division leaders.
Bo Naylor added a three-run blast as the Guardians outhomered the Orioles, who lead the majors with 172 homers.
“We played a really good game,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “We got to their starter and then added on with the bullpen and that’s a great recipe to win any game.”
Cleveland’s 66-42 record is tops in baseball and the club’s best mark through 108 games since the 1995 AL title team started 73-35.
Fry homered in the third off Trevor Rogers (2-10), who went 4 1/3 innings in his debut for the Orioles after being acquired in a trade Tuesday from Miami. The left-hander allowed five runs and six hits.
“It was definitely a whirlwind today, something I haven’t been through before,” said Rogers, who only had a brief conversation with catcher Adley Rutschman before taking the mound. “But I’m not going to sit here and make excuses. I’ve still got to execute the game plan.”
Ramírez hit his 28th homer in the seventh, giving him homers in three straight games for the first time since 2021.
“You’ve got to watch every single at-bat he’s up there,” Vogt said. “You better be watching because he’s going to do something special.”
Naylor’s eighth homer capped a five-run seventh when the Guardians blew it open.
Ben Lively (10-6) gave up two runs and four hits in six innings to become Cleveland’s first 10-game winner. He’s 6-1 with a 2.70 ERA in eight home starts.
“Ben has taken this role, really the first time he’s been a stable source in any rotation and he’s not letting it go,” Vogt said.
It was the first of four straight games between the Orioles and Guardians, who could see each other again in the postseason. Baltimore began its longest trip this season, an 11-day, 10-game swing through Cleveland, Toronto and Tampa Bay.
Lane Thomas doubled twice in his home debut for the Guardians after coming over in a trade from Washington this week. He’s reached base in 27 straight games.
Thomas played with the Nationals in Cleveland earlier this season and could sense something special about the Guardians.
“I just felt like they played the game hard and kind of how we thought we played,” he said. “I thought they had a really good bullpen. I just thought they’ve got a complete team, so it was fun to watch across the field. I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Anthony Santander hit his 32nd homer for Baltimore, which got just five hits.
Fry connected for his ninth homer — and first since May 31 — to give the Guardians a 5-1 lead.
Ramírez doubled with two outs in the third and Josh Naylor walked before Fry crushed a 3-2 pitch from Rogers 407 feet into the left-field bleachers.
“I wasn’t sure I could still do it,” Fry joked about ending his homer drought. “It was nice to see it go over the fence, but we had a bunch of ’em today. It was really fun.”
BACKED UP
Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee will have his scheduled start Saturday pushed back at least a couple days due to shoulder tightness.
Bibee, who is 9-4 in his second season with Cleveland, allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings at Detroit on Monday. Vogt said Bibee’s shoulder stiffened following the outing.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Guardians: Newly acquired RHP Alex Cobb will make a rehab start for Triple-A Columbus on Saturday. Cobb, who came over in a deadline trade from San Francisco, hasn’t pitched in the majors this season following hip surgery last October. He was set to rejoin the Giants’ rotation last week before developing a finger blister.
UP NEXT
Guardians RHP Carlos Carrasco (3-9, 5.68 ERA) was set to start Friday against Orioles RHP Dean Kremer (4-7, 4.20).
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