Rosario gets 4 RBIs, scores walk-off run in 10th

CLEVELAND -- Whenever Terry Francona has been asked about Amed Rosario this year, he’s had a similar refrain:

“When he gets hits, he gets them in bunches.”

But, for most of the year, those hits, bunches or otherwise, haven’t been there. In April, he limped out of the gate with a .227 batting average. And things weren’t much better in May (.238). But then he caught fire in June (.309), and that refrain seemed more like a statement of fact than some wishful thinking.

It’s looked even more like a statement of fact in July, as Rosario’s put together a blistering hot start to the month that reached an apex on Tuesday when he put together one of the best games of his career, driving in four runs in the Guardians’ 6-5 come-from-behind win against the best team in baseball.

“One thing I’ve done over the past couple days is try not to put pressure on myself,” Rosario said through interpreter Agustin Rivero.

After starting his day with a strikeout in his first at-bat, Rosario jump-started the Cleveland offense with a two-run double in the left-field gap off starter Kolby Allard -- marking his fourth straight game with a two-run hit.

His next time up, Rosario clobbered his second home run of the season, a 394-foot blast that cut the Braves’ lead to a run. In his next at-bat, he flipped that lead around with a go-ahead single that snuck through the right side of the infield to score Steven Kwan.

After Emmanuel Clase surrendered the lead in the top of the ninth inning by allowing a home run to Ozzie Albies, the Guardians picked up the win in the bottom of the 10th inning on a walk-off single from David Fry that scored Rosario from second.

“Well, off the bat, I was like, 'For sure, [it's] a hit,' but then [I thought], 'Oh God, he's going to catch this thing.' But when I saw it land, I was pretty fired up," Fry said.

Rosario’s strong day at the plate gave him his 41st three-hit game since 2021, which is tops in all of baseball. He’s now hitting .400 with eight RBIs in four July games.

“We probably value him more than other teams do,” manager Terry Francona said. “As you can see, when he gets going, he accounts for some runs and hopefully some RBIs lately that helps us win."

Fry’s walk-off hit was set up by an impressive defensive play from him and center fielder Myles Straw. With one out in the top of the 10th, Straw fielded a shallow pop fly from Eddie Rosario and fired a 91.8 mph missile to Fry to cut down Sam Hilliard at home.

After making the tag, Fry popped up and let loose a fist pump at the same time as pitcher Enyel De Los Santos as the nearly 25,000 fans at Progressive Field let out a collective cheer.

“As an outfielder, you always kind of want that play. And luckily enough, Rosario kind of didn't hit that ball too well,” Straw said. “Fry made a great play. It was kind of a little to the right a little bit, and he put his body on the line and dove, and I mean that's what ballplayers do.”

The comeback win came on a day when starter Shane Bieber labored through five innings against one of the best lineups in baseball, as the ace allowed four runs to go along with a career-high five walks.

While Bieber didn’t allow a run through the first four innings, he dealt with traffic on the bases all night -- the Braves loaded the bases in the first inning without putting a ball in play -- and entered the fifth inning having thrown 68 pitches. He allowed the game-tying home run to Albies before surrendering the lead three batters later on an RBI single from Travis d’Arnaud.

"It's a grind,” Francona said. “I thought he was pretty good. Just if you make a mistake to these guys, they can hurt you in a hurry."

But, as the Braves found out on Tuesday, the Guardians' lineup features some guys who can hurt you in a hurry, too, most notably Rosario, who Straw says should be “stapled” into the No. 2 hole in the lineup.

“He’s a special player,” Straw said. “When he gets hot, watch out.”