Pinch hitter Kyle Manzardo hit a ninth-inning home run off Jhoan Duran to lift the visiting Cleveland Guardians to their seventh straight win, a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.
In the opener of a three-game series, Gavin Williams (7-3) and the Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez shined in a pitchers’ duel amid a steady drizzle. Williams struck out 11 without a walk in eight innings, yielding just four hits.
Sanchez did not factor into the decision despite tossing eight scoreless innings to stretch his streak to 37 2/3 consecutive scoreless frames — the longest by a Phillies pitcher since at least 1920. He finished with six strikeouts while yielding four hits and a pair of walks.
Sanchez struck out two in the first inning, including ex-Phillie Rhys Hoskins. Williams responded with two strikeouts in his half of the first as he worked around a two-out double by Bryce Harper.
Each team wasted a baserunner in the second inning before Sanchez and Williams had no issues in the third or fourth innings. Both teams had a single in the fifth, but neither player reached scoring position.
In the seventh, David Fry singled with one out against Sanchez. However, the lefty recovered to get the next two hitters. In the bottom half, Williams yielded a one-out hit to Brandon Marsh before Adolis Garcia struck out on a pitch that Austin Hedges threw down to second to nail Marsh and end the frame.
The eighth featured a similar story, as each team received a one-out single but nothing more.
In the top of the ninth, Duran (1-2) came on and promptly allowed a base hit to Jose Ramirez, who was thrown out by Garcia trying to stretch it into a double. However, Manzardo sent the next pitch – a 97 mph splitter – over the wall in left field for an opposite-field homer.
Cade Smith worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 17th save.
