Jeimer Candelario homered twice and drove in all four runs and the Cincinnati Reds rallied to beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-2 on Wednesday night to split the opening series of the Ohio Cup.
Candelario had a 404-foot solo shot to center in the first inning and hit a three-run homer with one out in the sixth inning that chased Tanner Bibee (4-2) after the Cleveland right-hander had logged a career-high 11 strikeouts.
“Honestly, (Candelario) was locked in all night,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “He had great at-bats against Tanner.”
Nick Lodolo (7-2) had another quality start for the Reds, allowing two Cleveland runs and seven hits with six strikeouts through six innings.