Rangers fall to Guardians 4-2
Jhonkensy Noel homered for the second straight game and Matthew Boyd pitched six effective innings for his first win in more than a year, helping the Cleveland Guardians beat the Texas Rangers 4-2 on Sunday.
Noel hit a solo shot in the second against Cody Bradford (4-2), a towering 413-foot drive to center. It was the 12th homer for the 23-year-old rookie since his June 26 debut, matching Russell Branyan for the most by a Cleveland player in his first 41 games.
"I just follow the advice of the best player in the world, (teammate) José Ramírez," Noel said through an interpreter. "I know the type of hitter that I am, but I'm still adjusting and learning and trying to put the ball in play."
The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Noel also ran hard on the bases for an insurance run in the seventh, reaching on a third-strike wild pitch and scoring on a throwing error by reliever Jose Leclerc.
"If you hustle down the line and do things like that, it makes it easier for the team and shows the right thing," he said.
The Guardians extended their AL Central lead to three games over Kansas City and Minnesota. The Royals begin a four-game series in Cleveland with a doubleheader on Monday.
Boyd (1-0) allowed one run and three hits in his third start in his comeback from Tommy John surgery. The left-hander struck out four in his first win since June 21, 2023, for Detroit against Kansas City.
"It kind of skipped my mind that it was a win until my dad texted me," Boyd said, chuckling. "He told me to make sure to get a ball, so I did."
David Fry homered in the eighth and Ramírez had a sacrifice fly and two stolen bases for the Guardians, who are 2-1 on a 10-game homestand and have not lost a season series to the Rangers since 2016.
Emmanuel Clase struck out the side in order in the ninth for his AL-high 38th save. It was Clase's first save since Aug. 13 and his 25th straight conversion.
"It's honestly fun because having caught Clase a bunch, I get to explain, yeah, he's going to throw a back-foot fastball, which isn't a thing," Fry said. "He throws them at 102 (mph) and we get to see why he's the best in the world."
Bradford lost his second straight start, giving up two runs in six innings. The lefty committed a throwing error that led to Steven Kwan scoring an unearned run.
Corey Seager homered for Texas, and Jonah Heim hit an RBI double.
"It probably was our worst game fundamentally," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. "We just did not execute today with the fundamentals."
Rangers: LHP Andrew Heaney (4-13, 4.04 ERA) faces White Sox LHP Garrett Crochet (6-9, 3.64 ERA) in the opener of a three-game series in Chicago on Tuesday.