C.J. Kayfus home run No. 1 helps Cleveland Guardians extend winning streak, stay just outside AL Wild Card spot and close gap on Tigers in Central.
C.J. Kayfus hit his first home run and Joey Cantillo pitched into the sixth inning as the visiting Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Saturday, Aug. 9 for their fifth straight win.
The Guardians (61-55) are 21-7 since July 7, erasing 10 1/2 games off the Detroit Tigers lead over them in the American League Central. The Guardians trail the Tigers by five games.
Cleveland enters Aug. 10 trailing the New York Yankees by a half game for the third and final AL wild card playoff spot.
Cantillo (3-2) allowed one run on four hits over 5 2/3 innings for Cleveland, which has won nine of its last 10. Cantillo walked two and struck out three.
Nic Enright, Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski combined for 2 1/3 scoreless innings before Cade Smith retired the White Sox in order in the ninth for his fifth save. The Guardians bullpen has an MLB-best 2.28 earned run average since July 7.
Michael A. Taylor hit a solo homer for Chicago, which was held to four hits and lost its sixth straight.
Cleveland took a 1-0 lead in the first against Sean Burke (4-9) when Kyle Manzardo's two-out single drove in Steven Kwan, who doubled to begin the game.
Taylor tied the game with two outs in the second when he deposited Cantillo's first pitch over the left-center field wall for his eighth homer of the season.
The Guardians regained the lead with a run in the fourth when Kayfus drew a leadoff walk and raced around to score on Brayan Rocchio's double.
Burke gave up two runs on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings.
The White Sox put runners on the corners with one out in the fifth, but Cantillo escaped unscathed as Edgar Quero struck out and Luis Robert Jr. grounded into a fielder's choice.
Cleveland tacked on an insurance run with Kayfus' leadoff homer in the sixth against Bryan Hudson. The 23-year-old Kayfus turned on a 2-0 fastball for his first long ball since being promoted to the majors on Aug. 2.
Kayfus has a hit in five straight games.
Chicago threatened with two runners on in the eighth before Mike Tauchman grounded into an inning-ending double play.
The White Sox have lost 12 of their last 13 meetings with the Guardians, dating back to July 4, 2024. Taylor had two hits for Chicago, which went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians score 5th straight win, C.J. Kayfus hits 1st career home run
Category: Baseball
