Angel Martinez’s second-inning home run was all the visiting Guardians needed for a 1-0 win over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night, allowing Cleveland to clinch its third consecutive American League playoff berth.
While Martinez provided the only offense, Joey Cantillo (11-9) dominated for five shutout innings behind opener Daniel Espino. Cantillo allowed just one hit and two walks and striking out four. He has not allowed a run across his last three outings (15 innings) as a bulk reliever.
The Guardians (83-76) totaled four hits but allowed only two to the Red Sox (85-74) en route to winning the decisive game of the three-game series. Boston earned a 1-0 victory on Wednesday.
Cleveland logged its seventh win in eight games to remain one game ahead of the Chicago White Sox (82-77) atop the AL Central. Both teams have three regular-season games remaining.
The playoff-bound Red Sox fell for the fourth time in five games despite getting five innings of one-run ball from Ranger Suarez (8-5). He struck out five and allowed three hits and one walk.
Espino bookended his 1-2-3 first inning with strikeouts.
The lone run came in the second, as Martinez broke up Suarez’s four-up, four-down start with a 319-foot solo homer inside Pesky’s Pole in right field.
Suarez escaped a two-on jam in the third with back-to-back outs and retired the final eight Guardians he faced.
Both bullpens were very strong. Hunter Gaddis allowed the sole hit in relief of Cantillo, a Jarren Duran single in the seventh, but they came after a leadoff walk in the frame was erased in a 6-4-3 double play.
Cleveland’s Erik Sabrowski struck out two in the eighth, and Cade Smith fanned the side in a 1-2-3 ninth for his 41st save of the season.
Boston’s Patrick Sandoval, Erik Miller and Raymond Burgos allowed just one combined hit across four shutout innings after Suarez departed. Burgos pitched hitless ball over the final two frames.
