For the second straight night, a Cleveland rookie tamed Toronto’s tough lineup.
Tanner Bibee pitched seven strong innings and Ramón Laureano drove in the game’s only run after arriving just hours before his Cleveland debut, giving the Guardians a 1-0 win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday.
On Monday, Gavin Williams struck out 12 in seven innings. Bibee (8-2) wasn’t quite as dominant, but showed why Cleveland believes there’s a bright future, holding the Blue Jays to six hits and working out of a jam.
Bibee allowed six singles — three by Whit Merrifield — and remained unbeaten in his last nine starts. He and Williams are the first Cleveland rookies to pitch at least seven shutout innings in consecutive games since 1993.
The 24-year-old Bibee said he was motivated to follow Williams’ powerful performance.
Laureano, claimed off waivers on Monday from Oakland, hit an RBI double in the second against Yusei Kikuchi (9-4), who gave up three hits over seven innings.
Trevor Stephan pitched the eighth and Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase worked around two infield singles in the ninth for his 30th save. Clase, who served a one-game suspension on Monday, retired pinch-hitter Alejandro Kirk on a fly to center with runners at first and third for the final out.
The Blue Jays had their winning streak stopped at four. They dropped to 14-5 on the road since June 20.
Cleveland’s José Ramírez, who is appealing his three-game suspension for fighting Chicago’s Tim Anderson, went 0 for 3. The Guardians still don’t know when Ramírez will have his appeal heard by the commissioner’s office.
Francona returned to the dugout after serving a one-game suspension for his actions during the Anderson-Ramírez brouhaha.
Bibee, who has steadily gotten stronger this season, was in trouble in the third.
The Blue Jays got three straight one-out singles before the right-hander, who is 6-0 since June 18, locked up George Springer for a strikeout and then fanned Daulton Varsho to end Toronto’s threat.
While Bibee was holding the Jays in check, Kikuchi was just as tough on the Guardians. He retired 17 of 18 after Laureano’s double. The left-hander has a 1.23 ERA in five starts since the All-Star break.
Laureano took a red-eye flight from San Francisco and didn’t get to Cleveland until 6 a.m. He was still thrilled to be in the lineup on his first day and then made the most out of his fresh start with a big hit in his first at-bat, driving in Oscar Gonzalez.
