CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 09: Will Brennan #17 and Myles Straw #7 celebrate with Josh Bell #55 of the Cleveland Guardians after Bell hit into a fielders choice that scored Jose Ramirez #11 for the winning run during the twelfth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Progressive Field on April 09, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Guardians defeated the Mariners 7-6 in 12 innings.Photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images
Death, taxes, and the Cleveland Guardians winning an extra inning nail-biter. Today, after matching late-inning jabs the dust settled with the Guardians victorious: 7-6 in 12 innings over the Seattle Mariners.
Both teams scored in the first, but neither crossed the plate again until the ninth inning. For Seattle, Ty France singled and Cal Raleigh homered for a 2-0 lead. In response, Steven Kwan tripled to lead off the bottom of the first, then scored on Jose Ramirez's sacrifice fly to set the score at 2-1 until late.
Fast forward to the ninth: Emmanuel Clase allowed a one-out double to Teoscar Hernandez and walked Jarred Kelenic. Hernandez reached third on a wild pitch, then scored on Tommy La Stella's RBI ground out to extend the Mariners' lead to 3-1. In the bottom of the frame Josh Naylor drew a one-out walk against Matt Brash, and Andres Gimenez singled to center. Josh Bell struck out, but Will Brennan belted a two-out two-run double to tie the game at three.
Now to the 10th: Neither team scored in the inning despite loading the bases with a ghost-runner already aboard. Replacing Clase, Trevor Stephan allowed two runners to reach base, but struck out Eugenio Suarez and induced a Cal Raleigh ground out to deny the Mariners a go-ahead run. In the home half of the 10th, fresh from Triple-A Tacoma, Justin Topa forced a ground out, intentionally walked Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez, and retired Naylor on a flyout to foil the Guardians' threat.
On to the 11th: Jarred Kelenic roped an RBI double to score ghost-runner Cal Raleigh. Kelenic reached third base on a wild pitch and scored on Kolton Wong's sacrifice fly which doubled Seattle's lead to 5-3. For the second straight inning, the Guardians mirrored the Mariners' output. Andres Gimenez doubled to score ghost-runner Josh Naylor, reached third on a ground out, and scored on Will Brennan's single and second straight late-inning tying hit for a 5-5 tie.
Enter the 12th: Nick Sandlin retired the first two batters, but with a 1-2 count against Teoscar Hernandez, surrendered an RBI single and allowed ghost-runner Julio Rogriguez to score. The Mariners lead 6-5, but once again it was short-lived. On for the save attempt Penn Murfee intentionally walked Jose Ramirez, then, trying to pick off Amed Rosario at second, threw the ball into center field to allow Rosario and Ramirez to advance a base. With the game-tying and game-winning runs in scoring position, Josh Naylor grounded out but allowed Rosario to score and tie the game at six. Finally, Josh Bell, who went 0-6, and staring down the Mariners' infield drawn-in, delivered the game-winning run on a ground ball as Ramirez slid and narrowly avoided Raleigh's tag on the throw from second baseman Kolton Wong.
The Mariners won this series 2-1, but the Guardians won the season series, 4-3, because of their 3-1 series win in Seattle last week. Although it is early April, the Guardians already own a potential playoff tiebreaker over the Mariners.
Tim Herrin, who put out the final batter in the 12th, picked up his first career win while Penn Murfee took the loss after allowing the winning run to score. Starter Zach Plesac tossed seven innings, allowed two runs on five hits, and struck out six batters. George Kirby struck out four batters, and allowed one run on five hits in six innings of work.
Now 4-0 in extra innings and 6-4 overall, the Guardians welcome the New York Yankees (6-3) for a three-game series starting tomorrow at 6:10 PM. Shane Bieber (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will take the hill for the Guardians while Domingo German (0-1, 7.71 ERA) will go for the Yankees. Bieber last pitched against the Yankees in the Guardians' 4-2 10-inning win in Game Two of the Divisional Round last season. He took a no-decision after six innings, but allowed two runs on five hits and struck out seven batters. German has not faced Cleveland since April 2021, a 6-3 Yankees' win.