OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) JosĆ© Ramirez hit his first home run of the season, AndrĆ©s GimĆ©nez had three hits and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Aās 6-4 on Friday night in front of a sparse crowd at the Oakland Coliseum.
Ramirez, an All-Star each of the past three seasons, hit a two-run homer as part of a three-run first inning for the Guardians.
āItās best-case scenario to get out there with a three-run lead,ā Cleveland starter Logan Allen said. āAll I have to do is go out there and protect it.ā
GimƩnez (3-for-3, two walks) hit a pair of RBI doubles, one each in the fifth and seventh innings, while Will Brennan added an RBI single for Cleveland.
ā(GimĆ©nez) was the catalyst tonight,ā Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.
A total of 17,359 fans have shown up for the first two games in Oakland this season. A crowd of 3,837 fans was announced for Fridayās game, after 13,522 fans attended opening night Thursday, with thousands more in the parking lot protesting the Aās proposed move to Las Vegas.
Vogt, who played in Oakland for five-plus seasons during his career as a player, said his team wasnāt affected by the small crowd.
āObviously, thereās a lot going on here in Oakland,ā Vogt said. āI feel for the fans, but weāre focused on us and weāre focused on playing our game, no matter how many people are here.ā
Allen earned the win in his 2024 debut, allowing three runs over five-plus innings, after a 2023 rookie campaign where he posted a 3.81 ERA in 24 starts.
Oakland newcomer J.D. Davis hit two solo shots to record his first homers since being signed as a free agent on March 16. It marked the third two-homer game of Davisā career and first since July 17, 2021.
āThey donāt give out home runs up here,ā Davis said. āTo get two tonight was special, but at the end of the day, we lost, and thatās all that matters.ā
Aās outfielder Esteury Ruiz and catcher Shea Langeliers each added sacrifice flies. Aās right-hander Ross Stripling was charged with five runs (four earned) over five innings in his first start since being acquired via trade this offseason.
Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, who led the majors in saves each of the past two seasons, pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his first save of the season.
TRAINERāS ROOM
Guardians: LHP prospect Joey Cantillo is expected to miss eight-to-10 weeks with a hamstring injury.
UP NEXT
Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee (10-4, 2.94 ERA in 2023) faces Aās LHP JP Sears (5-14, 4.54 in 2023) on Saturday.
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