The Cleveland Guardians came out victorious on Sunday with a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, and the game turned into another milestone moment for Jose Ramirez.
In the sixth inning, Ramirez ripped a game-tying RBI triple down the line, a hit that not only shifted the momentum but also pushed his career total to 938 RBIs. That number moved him past Hall of Famer Jim Thome for sole possession of second place on Cleveland’s all-time list, according to Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. He now trails only Earl Averill, who holds the club record with 1,084 RBIs since the statistic became official in 1920.
Ramirez’s triple came off Tampa Bay reliever Garrett Cleavinger, who entered with a 20-inning scoreless streak, the longest active in the majors at the time. The hit scored by Angel Martinez broke Cleavinger’s streak, the first run he had allowed since July 5. After Ramirez was thrown out at the plate on a squeeze attempt, Gabriel Arias produced the eventual game-winning RBI single against Kevin Kelly, scoring David Fry.
The milestone ended a productive series for the 32-year-old third baseman. Across the four games in Tampa, Ramirez hit .438 (7-for-16) with a 1.346 OPS, collecting a home run, a triple, two doubles, four RBIs, and a stolen base. He extended his streak of consecutive games with an extra-base hit to four, the 24th such stretch of his career.
On Saturday, Ramirez also stole his 280th career base, breaking a tie with Omar Vizquel for second on Cleveland’s all-time list, behind only Kenny Lofton’s 452. Among primary third basemen in the Live Ball Era, only Chone Figgins (341) has more steals.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt praised Ramirez’s consistency, while teammates acknowledged his daily impact. Ramirez himself noted that his approach on the bases was influenced by Jose Reyes, the longtime Mets shortstop who finished his career with 517 steals.
Rookie left-hander Parker Messick added to the weekend’s storyline with a strong homecoming start. Pitching just 30 miles from his hometown of Plant City, Fla., Messick worked six innings, allowing one run on eight hits with four strikeouts and no walks. He improved to 2-0 in just his fourth career outing, backed by a vocal crowd of roughly 250 friends and family.
Cleveland’s bullpen, a decisive factor in the series win, threw 11 1/3 scoreless innings across the four games. On Sunday, Matt Festa, Hunter Gaddis, and Cade Smith combined for three shutout frames, with Smith striking out the side in the ninth for his 11th save.
The Guardians won three of four against Tampa Bay, improving to 72-70 on the season. The victory moved them ahead of the Rays (71-72) in the standings and also kept them 2 1/2 games behind Seattle (75-68) for the American League’s third Wild Card spot. They return home to open a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals on Monday.
