ANAHEIM, Calif. – Ben Lively pitched seven innings of two-run ball, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-4 on Sunday for their ninth consecutive win.
It’s the longest win streak for Cleveland since it won an AL-record 22 in a row from Aug. 24 to Sept. 14, 2017. It matched the franchise’s best 53-game start at 36-17, also accomplished in 1920, 1954 and 1995. The team reached the World Series in all three of those seasons, winning in 1920.
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“It’s fun. It’s what these guys do. I haven’t done anything,” first-year Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “It’s all about the guys in there. This team, they believe in each other. We play all 13 guys. They all chip in. Coming off the bench, we’ve been getting big hits. The pitching has really stepped up. It’s been a fun week and a half, and we hope to keep it going.”
Lively (4-2) allowed four hits, struck out five and walked two. Emmanuel Clase got three outs for his 17th save in 20 chances.
“It’s awesome,” Lively said of the win streak. “Let’s keep it going, see how far we can go. Keep on the same.”
Matt Thaiss homered for the Angels, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Reid Detmers (3-5) struck out eight in five innings, but he was charged with three runs and four hits.
Cleveland star José Ramírez walked twice and drove in a run after going deep three times in the first two games of the series. He was robbed of a homer when Jo Adell made a leaping catch in right in the eighth.
The Guardians scored three runs in the sixth to take a 5-2 lead.
With one out and Johnathan Rodriguez aboard after a leadoff single, Austin Hedges and Brayan Rocchio walked before Tyler Freeman was hit by a pitch from Adam Cimber — forcing in a run. Andrés Giménez hit an RBI single and Ramírez walked against Matt Moore, bringing home another run.
“That sixth inning was the one that killed us," Los Angeles manager Ron Washington said. "We just couldn’t get out of it.”
The Angels closed to 5-4 on RBI singles by Luis Rengifo and Kevin Pillar in the eighth. But the rally stalled when Adell struck out swinging, ending the inning.
Rodriguez hit a two-run single in the third for Cleveland, but Thaiss tied it with a two-out drive in the fifth for his first homer of the season.
Giménez was hit in the head by a Detmers pitch in the third. His helmet came off, and he was checked by an athletic trainer. But he stayed in the game.
“This was the first one to my head, and I hope it’s going to be the last one,” said Giménez, who has 32 RBIs on the season.
The Angels fell to 6-19 at home.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Guardians: RHP Carlos Carrasco (neck spasm) threw an up-down bullpen session.
Angels: INF Miguel Sano, who already is on the 10-day IL, left a heat pack on his leg too long and suffered a burn while on a rehab assignment, according to Washington. But it’s not thought to be serious.
UP NEXT
Guardians: RHP Xzavion Curry (2-0, 1.93 ERA) makes his third start of the season on Monday in Colorado.
Angels: RHP Griffin Canning (2-4, 5.05 ERA) starts on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game set against the New York Yankees.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb