Guardians shake off slow start for Tanner Bibee, roll by Orioles

CLEVELAND — Tanner Bibee got off to a miserable start Monday night, allowing singles to the first three batters and five runs within the first three innings. With the way the Guardians are swinging the bat these days, it was no big deal. Cleveland tied the game each time Bibee faltered before pulling in front for good on a leadoff homer from Kyle Manzardo in the sixth, beating Baltimore 10-5 in the opener of a four-game series at Progressive Field. Jose Ramirez tied it at 3-3 with a three-run homer in the first, before Bo Naylor knotted it at 5 with a solo shot in the fifth. Manzardo broke the tie with his 16th of the year, including seven coming on the first pitch. The Guardians entered the night averaging 5.9 runs per game over the last 10 games, notching their ninth win in 11 games. Naylor and Manzardo joined four others with multi-hit efforts for Cleveland, which broke it open by scoring four times in the seventh — twice on bases-loaded walks. Ramon Laureano, who spent parts of 2023 and last year with Cleveland, drove in four of Baltimore's runs off Bibee with a two-run single in the first and a two-run homer in the third. But after Laureano's homer, Bibee locked in and allowed just one more hit, retiring 12 of the final 13 batters he faced over seven innings. Ramirez's homer was his 20th, giving him 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in a season for the seventh time in his career, and the fifth consecutive year. The seven 20-20 seasons is the fourth-most in major league history. The Guardians loaded the bases in second but failed to score against Tomoyuki Sugano when Angel Martinez and Ramirez popped out and Manzardo grounded back to the pitcher. Cleveland left eight on base over the first four innings, but tied it again on a two-out solo shot from Naylor, who homered for the first time since June 6. Left fielder Steven Kwan returned to the lineup after missing the first three games back from the All-Star break with a lingering right wrist injury. He walked three times, had two hits and scored once. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on X @CAwesomeheimer.