Nobody plays them as close as the Guardians, baseball’s tightrope walkers.
Shane Bieber worked into the seventh inning, Amed Rosario hit a three-run double and closer Emmanuel Clase survived another stress-filled ninth inning as Cleveland won its MLB-high 23rd one-run game, 4-3 over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.
The Guardians are 10-13 in one-run games, and hope the experience helps them for the long haul.
Bieber (4-3) didn’t have his best stuff, but the right-hander got some run support for baseball’s lowest-scoring squad while limiting the Cardinals to two sacrifice flies.
Rosario’s bases-clearing double in Cleveland’s four-run fifth – a rare big inning for the scuffling AL Central champs – came off St. Louis rookie Matthew Liberatore (1-1).
Bieber allowed two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings before being pulled after walking two in the seventh. He’s 9-1 in his career against NL Central teams.
Trevor Stephan replaced Bieber and gave up a walk to load the bases, but the right-hander buckled down and got DH Nolan Gorman to foul out and end the seventh, preserving Cleveland’s two-run lead.
The Guardians then turned to Clase, who hasn’t been himself this season. He gave up a one-out RBI double to Lars Nootbaar before striking out Paul Goldschmidt and Gorman, who took a called third strike, for his MLB-leading 17th save in 22 chances.
Nolan Arenado and Alec Burleson hit sacrifice flies for the Cardinals, who are 13-6 since May 7.
Making just his second start this year, Liberatore held the light-hitting Guardians, who entered the series last or near last in every offensive category, to just an infield single by Mike Zunino in the third inning.
However, the left-hander helped ignite Cleveland’s big fifth by hitting Andrés Giménez leading off. Zunino and Myles Straw hit singles to load the bases.
Steven Kwan’s RBI single made it 1-0 before Rosario ripped his double into the left-field corner to give the Guardians some breathing room. It was just fifth time this season Cleveland has scored four runs or more in an inning.