CLEVELAND — Josh Naylor singled with two outs in the eighth inning, scoring younger brother Bo Naylor with the go-ahead run, as the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians edged the Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Wednesday night.
Bo Naylor drew a walk against Beau Brieske (1-1), then stole second base. Following an intentional walk to José Ramírez, Josh Naylor lined a ball up the middle that second baseman Colt Keith could only deflect into center field.
“All I know is that Josh is a competitor,” Bo Naylor said. “He almost wants to get it over with and just kind of get in the box because he’s always ready for his turn and his chance to do something big.”
Hunter Gaddis (4-2) struck out all three batters in the eighth, and Emmanuel Clase pitched the ninth for his AL-high 31st save to complete a combined two-hitter. Scott Barlow and Tim Herrin also worked in relief after staff ace Tanner Bibee exited with leg cramps.
Bibee pitched five innings, allowing a solo homer to Matt Vierling in the first, but winced while walking onto the field for the sixth and spent several minutes stretching his legs, to no avail.
“I feel fine now, but I seem to cramp up every single start, which stinks,” Bibee said. “With our bullpen, it feels like they do their job every time they come into the game and that’s the beauty of that. This was a really good win.”
Tigers starter Jack Flaherty — a prime candidate to be moved before the July 30 trade deadline — went six innings, allowing one unearned run with six strikeouts. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.02 ERA in three July starts.
Cleveland tied the score in the fifth on Steven Kwan’s RBI single. Bo Naylor came home after hitting a single and advancing to second on a passed ball by Carson Kelly.
“They’re kind of like us because they grind out at-bats and make guys work,” said Vierling, who has a career-high 13 home runs. “And Barlow, Gaddis, Clase — those guys have been on a roll. One of the big reasons the Guardians have been so good all year is their bullpen.”
Cleveland improved to 33-14 at Progressive Field, the second-best home mark in the majors.
Kwan, who leads the majors in hitting, went 1 for 4 to lower his batting average to .345.
Tigers shortstop Javier Báez, who is hitting .178, batted ninth for the first time this season and was 0 for 3. Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said the decision “is not a slap in the face to him.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Guardians: LHP Matthew Boyd (Tommy John surgery) threw a bullpen at Progressive Field in preparation for his third rehab appearance. The 33-year-old Boyd will start for Triple-A Columbus or Double-A Akron this weekend.
UP NEXT
Guardians RHP Gavin Williams (0-2, 4.50 ERA) makes his fifth start of the season in the series finale, five days after pitching a season-low 3 2/3 innings in a loss to San Diego. The Tigers did not announce a scheduled starter, and Hinch said multiple relievers will be used.
