PITTSBURGH — Josh Naylor had three RBIs with a home run and a double, helping the Cleveland Guardians rout the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-0 on Monday night to end a four-game losing streak.
Naylor's sixth-inning RBI double extended his hitting streak to eight games and gave Cleveland a 5-0 lead. He drove a Yohan Ramirez sinker over the left-field wall in the seventh for a nine-run lead, the last of the Guardians' trio of two-run homers.
“When he drives the ball the other way, he's so dangerous,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “That's why I don't think we haven't seen yet the best of him. I just think there's more in there. I'm not saying he's not doing great. I'm just saying there's more in there.”
Steven Kwan added an RBI single in the eighth and Myles Straw had a run-scoring infield single in the ninth. Cleveland had totaled 10 runs during its four losses.
Michael Kelly (1-0) struck out two and allowed two hits in 1 2/3 innings for his first major league win. Xzavion Curry gave up one hit and one walk in three innings.
“I think it's great for us to just be able to band together as a bullpen,” Curry said. “Put a strong game together to be able to get the team back into the win column and hopefully get things rolling.”
Quinn Priester (0-1), the fourth-ranked prospect in the Pirates’ system, allowed seven runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings in his major league debut.
“Just kind of getting the feel,” Priester said. “Feeling that confidence, feeling the game situation and learning. Ultimately I might have failed a little bit tonight, but those failures are gonna push me to get better.”
Endy Rodríguez, ranked third, also debuted to catch Priester in a battery often used at Triple-A Indianapolis. He was 0 for 4 and struck out three times.
“It felt good. Felt great,” Rodríguez said. “Tomorrow’s another day, right? ... I wasn’t nervous. I saw the ball well.”
Pittsburgh has lost four in a row, eight of nine and 11 of 13, falling a season-high 12 games below .500 at 41-53 after a 20-8 start. The Pirates were shut out for the 10th time and held to four hits or fewer for the 17th time.
Cleveland pitched its ninth shutout, one shy of the big league high.
Following a 47-minute rain delay, Priester gave up one hit in the first four innings, a two-run homer to Amed Rosario n the fourth. Bo Naylor doubled into the left-centerfield notch, extending the lead to 3-0 in the fifth.
José Ramírez had an RBI double ahead of Naylor’s double in a four-run sixth and Andrés Giménez hit a two-run homer.
“I think we were able to see (Priester's) stuff,” Giménez said. “Obviously, he was attacking us in the strike zone with the fastball early on. We saw what his pitches were doing. The second time through, we were able to execute.”
FRESH START
Priester, born Sept. 15, 2000, and Rodríguez, born May 26, 2000, became Major League Baseball’s first starting battery born 2000 or later, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. It marked the first debuting starting battery for the Pirates since Cookie Cuccurullo pitched to Hank Camelli on Oct. 3, 1943.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: INF Liover Peguero was selected from Indianapolis. … C Jason Delay, RHP Cody Bolton and OF Josh Palacios were optioned to Indianapolis. … OF Travis Swaggerty was designated for assignment.
UP NEXT
Guardians LHP Logan Allen (3-2, 3.47) is set to start Tuesday against RHP Mitch Keller (9-4, 3.31), appearing for the first time since allowing a home run in the second inning of the All-Star Game. Allen tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings over his previous two starts.
