ST. LOUIS — José Ramírez had three hits, including his 36th home run, scored two runs and stole his 40th base as the Cleveland Guardians beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 on Friday night to move one step closer to the AL Central crown.
“When you watch him play, it’s OK. This guy wants to play, he wants to be the best,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said of Ramirez. “Nothing he does will ever surprise me. He’s capable of great things.”
Ramírez has scored more goals this season.
“It feels good, but of course it will feel a lot better if I can hit four more home runs to make it 40/40,” he said through an interpreter.
Ben Lively (13-9) pitched five innings, allowing just one earned run and three hits while allowing two strikeouts and a walk. It was his third consecutive start in which he allowed fewer than two runs.
“A couple of times in the past I’ve relaxed a little bit and thought I had it figured out a little bit and then bad things have happened,” Lively said. “You know what you’re doing, so keep going. I have a lot of time in the offseason to think about it.”
Erik Sabrowski allowed two hits in 2 1/3 innings, earning the first save of his professional career.
Andrés Giménez and Lane Thomas hit solo home runs for the Guardians. Thomas, who began his career in St. Louis, hit his first home run at Busch Stadium since September 10, 2020.
The Guardians’ magic number for the division is now one. The Cardinals’ loss and the Arizona Diamondbacks’ victory over the Milwaukee Brewers have officially knocked St. Louis out of the postseason race for the second year in a row.
Cardinals starter Kyle Gibson (8-8) allowed four runs (three earned) in six innings, striking out twice and walking three, marking only the fifth time in 29 starts he has allowed multiple home runs.
“It felt really good, (but) we would like to have two pitches back,” Gibson said.
“I think (Gibson) has done well, especially against that lineup,” Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said. “They’ve got a lot of left-handed hitters in there, a lot of guys making contact, they’re in the air quite a bit, they’re not swinging and missing. He’s given us a chance.”
Lars Nootbaar had two hits for the Cardinals, including a pop-up double to shallow left field in the fourth inning that scored St. Louis’ run. Thomas Saggese had two hits in his first career start at third base. His throwing error in the fourth inning allowed Bo Naylor to advance to second base on a single and score on an RBI base hit by Daniel Schneemann.
The Guardians, who clinched a playoff spot at home on Thursday, would clinch the AL Central with another win or loss by the Kansas City Royals.
“Clinching at home was really fun and we should enjoy it, but that doesn’t mean the work stops,” Vogt said. “We have to keep going until the end.”
TRAINING ROOM
Cardinals: Marmol said the Cardinals are still evaluating how the team will set up its pitching rotation for the final eight games of the regular season. RHP Sonny Gray described dealing with unspecified “unresolved issues” after his last start on Sept. 18.
Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb (right middle finger blister) is “building volume” before playing in a game, Vogt said. OF Steven Kwan (middle back irritation) can come off the injured list Tuesday, and Vogt said the team is “aiming” for that day for his activation. “Obviously we don’t know what will happen between now and then, but his development is going well. He’s feeling better every day,” Vogt said. RHP Carlos Carrasco was released from waivers and accepted an outright transfer to Triple-A Columbus.
Next
Miles Mikolas (8-11, 5.49) starts for St. Louis in the second game of the series, facing Cleveland lefty Matthew Boyd (2-1, 2.52). Mikolas is trying to avoid becoming the first Cardinals pitcher since Kip Wells in 2007 to pitch at least 150 innings with an ERA of 5.50 or higher.
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