Jose Ramirez had his franchise-record 28th career multi-homer game, belting a pair of solo shots, and Brayan Rocchio had three RBIs as the Cleveland Guardians beat the visiting Baltimore Orioles 8-4 on Sunday afternoon.
Ramirez hit his first solo shot, Juan Brito hit a two-run double and Rocchio added a one-run single as part of a five-run fourth inning for Cleveland. David Fry and Daniel Schneemann came around on Brito’s hit into the gap.
Baltimore came right back with four runs in the top of the fifth, highlighted by Taylor Ward’s three-run blast that was his first of the season. Dylan Beavers also had a fielder’s choice to score Pete Alonso.
Ramirez’s second homer followed in the bottom half of the inning, giving the Guardians breathing room again at 6-4. In his last 11 games, the seven-time All-Star has five home runs and eight stolen bases.
Rocchio added a two-run single in the eighth against Cameron Foster. It was his third single of the game, sending Cleveland to its third win in the four-game weekend series.
Matt Festa (1-0) was the winning pitcher, facing two batters to end the fifth. Festa, rookie Peyton Pallette, Erik Sabrowski and Shawn Armstrong combined for 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Both of Ramirez’s home runs came off Orioles starter Trevor Rogers (2-2), who struck out five in five innings. The left-hander allowed a season-high six runs, five earned, on six hits and walked two.
Ramirez moved into second place in Cleveland history with 138 homers at home, 46 behind Hall of Famer Jim Thome. He already owns the franchise mark with 1,632 games played, surpassing Terry Turner earlier in the month.
Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo struck out six in 4 2/3 innings. The left-hander gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits with three walks and a hit batsman.
