Josh Naylor and Austin Hedges lead MLB-leading Guardians past Orioles 8-4 for 5th straight win

CLEVELAND (AP) - Josh Naylor had three hits and drove in two runs, Austin Hedges had two RBIs and the MLB-leading Cleveland Guardians scored eight consecutive runs in beating the Baltimore Orioles 8-4 for their fifth straight win on Friday night.

The Guardians own the best record in baseball at 67-42 and lead the American League Central by six games over the Kansas City Royals. They have won the first two games of the series by an 18-7 margin over the Orioles, who fell behind the Yankees in the AL East standings.

Hedges also scored from second base on José Ramírez’s sacrifice fly in the sixth inning when Steven Kwan was caught in a rundown, but successfully made his way back to first. Brayan Rocchio initially came home on the play that put Cleveland up 8-1.

Cade Smith (6-1) retired all five batters he faced in relief for the victory. The Guardians also have the best home record in the majors at 35-15.

Colton Cowser and Jackson Holliday each had RBI singles in a three-run seventh for Baltimore. Cowser extended his hitting streak to 15 games and fellow rookie Holliday had his first two-hit performance.

Orioles third baseman Coby Mayo, one of the top prospects in baseball, went 0 for 2 with two walks and a run in his major-league debut. The 22-year-old was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk earlier Friday to fill in for Jordan Westburg.

Dean Kremer (4-8) gave up four runs in five innings, losing his third straight start. Gregory Soto followed and allowed four runs while recording one out in his first appearance since being acquired from Philadelphia.

Rocchio drew a bases-loaded walk off Kremer and Kwan did the same against Soto. Lane Thomas walked in the eighth to reach base for the 28th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the majors.

Carlos Carrasco started for Cleveland, going 4 1/3 innings and allowing one run on one hit. He struck out five and walked four in extending his winless streak to seven starts.

Mayo batted .301 with 20 homers and 61 RBIs in 77 games with the Tides, leading the International League with a .586 slugging percentage. He was a fourth-round selection in the 2020 draft.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Orioles: 3B Jordan Westburg (right hand fracture) could miss the remainder of the regular season after being hit by a pitch from Toronto's Yerry Rodríguez in the fifth inning Wednesday. Westburg was chosen for his first All-Star Game last month.

Guardians: RHP Tanner Bibee (right shoulder tightness) will not make his scheduled start Saturday and won't have his status updated until later in the weekend. The staff ace remains on the active roster. He is 9-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 22 starts.

UP NEXT

Orioles RHP Zach Eflin (6-7, 4.11 ERA) takes on Guardians LHP Joey Cantillo (0-0, 8.10 ERA) in the second game of the series. Eflin was acquired from Tampa Bay on July 26 and won his initial start with Baltimore three days later over the Blue Jays.

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