The Cleveland Guardians halted a three-game losing streak on Friday night, defeating the Los Angeles Angels 8–6 in Anaheim behind a three-homer performance from José Ramírez. The Guardians’ star third baseman homered in the first, fifth, and ninth innings to power Cleveland’s offense and tie the franchise record for multi-homer games.
Ramírez’s standout showing marked his second three-home run game, the first occurring on June 8, 2023. His solo blast in the first inning opened the scoring at Angel Stadium, and he followed it up with a two-run shot in the fifth. He completed the trifecta with another solo homer in the ninth. The performance raised his tally of multi-homer games to 26, tying Cleveland legends Albert Belle and Jim Thome for the most in team history.
The Angels’ home opener was marked by a combination of early offense and late drama but ended in disappointment for the home crowd. Los Angeles fell to 0–4 in their last four home openers and dropped to a 6–7 overall record.
Mike Trout, returning to Angel Stadium for the first time in nearly a year, homered in his initial at-bat, sending a 98 mph fastball to center field. It was his third homer of the season and a bright spot in what otherwise became a challenging night for the Angels, who lost three players to injury. Luis Rengifo and reliever Ryan Zeferjahn exited with apparent hamstring injuries, while third baseman Yoán Moncada left with right thumb irritation.
Jo Adell contributed to the Angels’ offense with three RBIs, including a two-run single during a third-inning rally aided by a throwing error from Ramírez, his third in as many games. Cleveland, however, capitalized on wildness from Angels pitchers in the sixth, drawing three walks and reclaiming the lead when Brayan Rocchio’s two-out grounder got past Moncada for an error, scoring the go-ahead run.
Rocchio added to the offense with three RBIs, helping the Guardians stay in front despite a ninth-inning scare. All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase allowed a solo homer to Logan O’Hoppe following an 11-pitch battle, then surrendered a single and an RBI groundout to Adell before inducing a game-ending ground ball from Travis d’Arnaud.
Cleveland’s bullpen preserved the lead following starter Carlos Carrasco’s five innings. Tim Herrin (1–0) won after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the sixth. Conversely, José Soriano (1–1) took the loss, giving up five runs while striking out nine in five innings for Los Angeles.
With the win, Cleveland improved to 9–5 as they continue a nine-game road trip. Now that we are dealing with early-season injury issues, the Angels will look to even the series on Saturday.
Looking ahead to Game 2, the Guardians will start right-hander Tanner Bibee (1–0, 0.00 ERA), a local product from Cal State Fullerton, located just six miles from Angel Stadium. The Angels will counter with Jack Kochanowicz (0–0, 3.00 ERA). Most oddsmakers have the matchup evenly priced, with the over/under for total runs set at 8.5.