CLEVELAND (AP) — All that was missing were Rajai Davis and a rain delay.
Josh Naylor drove in José Ramírez with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Cleveland Guardians held on for a 9-8 win over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night in a back-and-forth matchup that evoked memories of their 2016 World Series.
Rookie Jhonkensy Noel hit a three-run homer and solo shot, and he made a diving catch in right field to save a couple runs for the AL Central-leading Guardians, who returned home after splitting a tense, four-game series at second-place Minnesota.
Steven Kwan added a two-run homer for the Guardians, who blew an 8-3 lead before improving the league’s best home record to 36-20.
“We’re proving to ourselves we can win a number of different ways,” said Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt. “That’s one of the first times all year we’ve been punched back like that late in the game, and for our guys to respond and put runs up late, that’s huge.”
Ian Happ and Pete Crow-Armstrong homered for the Cubs, who are in a stretch of 14 straight games against AL teams.
Ramírez opened the eighth with a double off Julian Merryweather (1-1) and pinch-hitter Will Brennan singled before Naylor bounced his base hit into left.
The Cubs led 3-0 and then fell behind by five before tying it with four runs in the seventh and one in the eighth off Cleveland’s vaunted bullpen.
While the game didn’t have the same drama as the ‘16 Series, won in seven games by the Cubs with a dramatic 8-7 win in Game 7 after Davis’ improbable homer off Aroldis Chapman and a rain delay that may have saved Chicago, it had plenty of momentum-swinging moments.
Nick Sandlin (7-0) got the last two outs in the eighth before Vogt brought in closer Emmanuel Clase for the third straight game. Clase set down the Cubs in order for his league-leading 36th save.
“He wants to pitch every day,” Vogt said. “Probably going to have a conversation tomorrow with him about it. But that’s what you love about him.”
Noel’s three-run blast in the fourth off Shota Imanaga — on a pitch that was just above the plate — came shortly after his sensational catch.
The Cubs were already up three and threatening in the fourth when Noel came up with his defensive gem.
With two on and two outs, Chicago’s Seiya Suzuki lifted a ball to right that was tailing toward the foul line. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Noel got a decent jump and launched himself to make the catch before sliding face down in the grass.
“Game saver,” Vogt said. “That killed the momentum right there and just an unbelievable play. He’s continued to just shine on defense. He’s been making plays.”
In the fourth, Noel fell behind 1-2 in the count before he yanked a low splitter over the wall in left for his seventh homer to make it 4-3.
Kwan followed a one-out single by Austin Hedges in the fifth with his 13th homer, a towering shot to right.
Happ celebrated his 30th birthday by hitting a massive, 429-foot homer off Guardians starter Ben Lively as the Cubs, who stranded nine runners, jumped to a 3-0 lead.
“We played really good offense, even had some balls hit with men in scoring position that didn’t fall, especially early in the game,” manager Craig Counsell said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: Rookie RHP Ben Brown (neck strain) has been shut down. Counsell said Brown wasn’t making progress and the team felt the best next step was complete rest. Counsell said the team doesn’t have a timetable on Brown’s return, but he isn’t ruling him out pitching again this season.
Guardians: LHP Sam Hentges (shoulder) is getting a second opinion on an injury that has limited him to just 25 games this season. Hentges had been on a minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Columbus.
UP NEXT
Matthew Boyd makes his debut for the Guardians, who signed the left-hander as a free agent in June to give them starting depth. Boyd underwent Tommy John surgery last year. He’ll face Cubs RHP Javier Assad (5-3, 3.24 ERA).