The Cleveland Guardians took an early lead Friday night and never relinquished it, recording a rare 5-2 series-opening win over the Boston Red Sox to get back to .500.
It was clear from the first inning that Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta had his work cut out for him. He needed 32 pitches to get through the inning, and José Ramírez was responsible for 12 of them. After a Steven Kwan leadoff single and an Amed Rosario popout, Ramírez put together a Professional At-Bat™, fouling off seven pitches before lining a single into center field on a 3-2 fastball up in the zone.