The Guardians' Oscar Mercado hits an RBI single in the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in Cleveland on May 8. The Guardians' Franmil Reyes scored on the play.David Dermer/The Associated Press
Franmil Reyes lumbered home on Oscar Mercado’s tiebreaking, two-out single in the eighth inning and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 Sunday.
Toronto took a 3-2 lead into the eighth, but Owen Miller’s one-out homer off Tim Mayza tied it. Mayza retired Jose Ramirez, but Miller drove a 2-2 pitch to the left-field bleachers.
Adam Cimber (4-2) relieved with two outs and allowed Reyes’s single and Andres Gimenez’s walk. Mercado, who was hit on the left hand by a pitch in the third, lined a 2-2 offering to centre, and Reyes slid home ahead of the throw that was cut off.
Bryan Shaw (1-0) pitched the eighth and Emmanuel Clase worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save.
George Springer’s sacrifice fly broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh. Teoscar Hernandez’s bases-loaded single gave Toronto a 2-0 lead after four batters. Cleveland tied it in the third on Ramirez’s RBI triple and Miller’s sacrifice fly.
Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah, who came into the game tied for the major-league lead with four wins, gave up two runs and struck out three in five innings.
The 6-foot-6, 285-pound Manoah kept Cleveland’s hitters from digging in at the plate. He drilled Mercado on the left hand in the third to load the bases. Mercado immediately removed his batting glove and walked toward Cleveland’s dugout. He met with manager Terry Francona and a team trainer before taking first base.
Manoah worked out of the one-out jam by striking out Austin Hedges and retiring Myles Straw on a ground ball.
Manoah hit Josh Naylor on the left foot with a breaking pitch that dived sharply in the dirt during the third. He also threw a pitch to Ramirez in the first that sailed to the backstop.
Cleveland rookie Konnor Pilkington, making his first major-league start, allowed two runs and struck out six in 3 2/3 innings. The left-hander was called up from Triple-A Columbus before the game.
Pilkington made three scoreless relief appearances earlier this season. Springer’s towering fly ball to left hit off the 19 1/2 foot wall for a double. Bo Bichette walked before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slapped a 1-2 pitch through the right side for a single that loaded the bases.
Steven Kwan led off Cleveland’s third with a double and scored on a triple by Ramirez, who beat the relay throw from the outfield with a headfirst slide. Miller’s fly ball tied it.
Guerrero was called safe on a ground ball hit to shortstop Gimenez in the fifth, a play Cleveland challenged. As the scoreboard replays clearly showed the call would be overturned, Guerrero walked from first base to Toronto’s dugout before the out call was announced.
Toronto begins a three-game series at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night following Monday’s off-day. Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (1-1, 4.35 ERA) will pitch the opener.