(AP) — Jhonkensy Noel homered again, and Matthew Boyd pitched six effective innings in his first win in more than a year, helping the Cleveland Guardians beat the Texas Rangers 4-2 on Sunday.
Noel hit a solo shot in the second against Cody Bradford (4-2), a towering 413-foot drive to center. It was the 12th homer for the 23-year-old rookie since his June 26 debut, matching Russell Branyan for the most by a Cleveland player in his first 41 games.
Boyd (1-0) allowed one run and three hits in his third start in his comeback from Tommy John surgery. The left-hander struck out four in his first win since June 21, 2023, for Detroit against Kansas City.
Corey Seager hit a solo homer for Texas against Hunter Gaddis in the eighth, but David Fry answered in the bottom half with a drive off Matt Festa.
Emmanuel Clase struck out the side in the ninth for his AL-high 38th save. It was Clase’s first save since Aug. 13 and his 25th straight conversion.
The AL Central-leading Guardians began the day with a two-game lead over Kansas City and Minnesota in the division.
José Ramírez hit a sacrifice fly and stole two bases for the Guardians. Cleveland is 2-1 on its 10-game homestand and has not lost a series to the Rangers since 2016.
Jonah Heim doubled in the fifth to cut Texas’ deficit to 2-1, plating Josh Jung. Noel scored his second run in the seventh, reaching on a third-strike wild pitch and touching the plate on a throwing error by reliever Jose Leclerc.
Bradford lost his second straight start, giving up two runs in six innings. The lefty also committed a throwing error that led to Steven Kwan scoring an unearned run.
Noel’s homer was his second in two days and the sixth in his last 11 games.
