Nolan Jones hits game-tying homer in the 9th, Kyle Manzardo delivers in the 10th, as Guardians rally to beat Rays 4-3

CLEVELAND — A rough season for Nolan Jones got a little better Wednesday afternoon at Progressive Field. Jones rescued the Guardians from defeat with a game-tying solo homer in the ninth inning, and Kyle Manzardo delivered a two-out single in the 10th to lift Cleveland to a 4-3 victory over the Rays. It was only the fourth homer for Jones but a significant one for Cleveland, which became the sixth American League franchise to hit 14,000 homers. "Obviously, it's been a really tough year for me," said Jones, who rejoined the Guardians after two years in Colorado. "I take every single at-bat like it's the most important at-bat in the world. I've struggled in the big leagues before. I struggled last year. Obviously, I had big plans to have a big bounce-back year and help this club win, and that hasn't been the case in a lot of ways. "My opportunities have been a little more limited recently, so when I get those opportunities, I'm just trying to do what I can to take advantage of them and help this team win. Hopefully that's a swing that we can say in a couple weeks it started a streak, then we're looking at the playoffs." Manager Stephen Vogt was happy it was Jones who came through. "Nolan's extremely hard on himself. He cares so much — a little too much at times," Vogt said. "That homer for him, a two-hit game, can really release a lot of pressure. "We all know what Nolan's capable of. It's been a tough year for him, not only results-wise, but playing time and a number of different things, so it was really great to see him get a huge knock for us." The Guardians, who entered the day at 65-66 and trailing by five games in the wild card race, clinched their first series in the last four. "It's gonna propel us forward," said right-hander Slade Cecconi, who worked a quality start by allowing three runs over six innings. "We take every day one at a time and winning the series, winning a game against a really good bullpen, coming from behind, it's going to inject a lot of energy and confidence in this clubhouse." Cecconi allowed all three of his runs within the first three innings, surrendering a two-run homer to Brandon Lowe in the third that put the Rays up 3-1, but he retired all nine batters he faced over his final three innings. "The first four innings they made him throw a lot of pitches, and then he got real efficient in the fifth and sixth," Vogt said. "It was really cool for him to finish six innings. He's up over 100 innings. That's awesome for somebody that's never done it before, and we're not seeing a tick down (in velocity)." The scoring opportunities were scarce for Cleveland, which trailed 3-2 in the seventh when Gabriel Arias led off with a base hit and Will Wilson followed with a one-out single to leave runners on the corners. The threat ended when Angel Martinez popped out and pinch hitter Bo Naylor flied to right. Wilson, who scored the Guardians' first run with a safety squeeze bunt single, had a career-high three of the Guardians' eight hits. "It's awesome, man, especially to win a game like that," Wilson said. "Win a series, get back to .500. Guards are hot, so we're rolling. It's good to have a day like that, get a win." "Willie's done everything we've ever asked of him every time he comes up here," Vogt said. "He's just such a great person and teammate and he's a really good ballplayer." Steven Kwan's two-out single brought Cleveland within a run in the fifth, setting the stage for Jones' heroics in the ninth. The Guardians' 10th began with a sacrifice bunt from Naylor that moved the extra runner Martinez to third. Tampa walked Kwan intentionally before Brayan Rocchio struck out. Down 0-2 to right-hander Griffin Jax, Manzardo lined a pitch into center to touch off the celebration. Despite delivering in a big moment, Manzardo only wanted to talk about his teammate Jones. "I couldn't be happier for Nolan," Manzardo said. "That one's been a long time coming and I got to imagine that there ain't many things that felt better than that one for him." Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on X.