Guardians 5-1 Cardinals (September 20, 2024) Match Summary

ST. LOUIS — José Ramírez had three hits, including his 36th home run, scored two runs and stole his 40th base as the Cleveland Guardians beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 on Friday night to move one step closer to the AL Central crown.

Ben Lively (13-9) pitched five innings, allowing just one earned run and three hits while allowing two strikeouts and a walk. It was his third consecutive start in which he allowed fewer than two runs.

Erik Sabrowski allowed two hits in 2 1/3 innings, earning the first save of his professional career.

Andrés Giménez and Lane Thomas hit solo home runs for the Guardians. Thomas, who began his career in St. Louis, hit his first home run at Busch Stadium since September 10, 2020.

The magic number of Guardians for the Division is now one.

Cardinals starter Kyle Gibson (8-8) allowed four runs (three earned) in six innings, striking out twice and walking three, marking only the fifth time in 29 starts he has allowed multiple home runs.

Lars Nootbaar had two hits for the Cardinals, including a pop-up double to shallow left field in the fourth inning that scored St. Louis' run. Thomas Saggese had two hits in his first career start at third base. His throwing error in the fourth inning allowed Bo Naylor to advance to second base on a single and score on an RBI base hit by Daniel Schneemann.

TRAINING ROOM

Cardinals: Manager Oli Marmol said the Cardinals are still evaluating how the team will set up its pitching rotation for the final eight games of the regular season. RHP Sonny Gray described dealing with unspecified “unresolved issues” after his last start on Sept. 18.

Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb (right middle finger blister) is “building volume” before playing in a game, manager Stephen Vogt said. OF Steven Kwan (middle back irritation) can come off the injured list Tuesday, and Vogt said the team is “aiming” for that day for his activation. “Obviously we don't know what's going to happen between now and then, but his development is going well. He's feeling better every day,” Vogt said. RHP Carlos Carrasco was activated from waivers and accepted an outright transfer to Triple-A Columbus.

Next

Miles Mikolas (8-11, 5.49) starts for St. Louis in the second game of the series, facing Cleveland lefty Matthew Boyd (2-1, 2.52). Mikolas is trying to avoid becoming the first Cardinals pitcher since Kip Wells in 2007 to pitch at least 150 innings with an ERA of 5.50 or higher.

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