Barrage of Home Runs Propels Guardians to Impressive Series Finale Win Over Reds

For the first time since last August, Kyle Manzardo has a multi-home run game under his belt.

But he wasn't the only one to leave the yard.

On Sunday, May 17, the Cleveland Guardians dominated the Cincinnati Reds in a 10-3 showing. While starting pitcher Gavin Williams and a mix of bullpen arms locked down the Reds' bats, the Guardians' bats torched their pitching staff.

Home runs were smacked by Cleveland's Angel Martinez, Chase DeLauter, Brayan Rocchio, José Ramírez and Manzardo twice in the victory at home.

For the 25-year-old first baseman Manzardo, Sunday's outing showed that he still has power behind his swing, something that was absent to begin the year. It was also the first time he had left the yard since May 2, when the Guardians took on the Sacramento Athletics.

"I was just hunting the pitch out over the plate. Just trying to drive it," Manzardo said when reflecting on what went right on Sunday.

He's now up to four on the season, sporting a .225/.303/.364 slashing line along the way.

The hope is that he will be able to turn this into sustainable momentum, as he's trending in the right direction since the early-season bumps.

"I am focusing on getting my foot down earlier," he said. "Letting my hips work a little bit more and trying to be on time."

The home run shots by Martinez, Rocchio and DeLauter don't come as much of a surprise.

As of late, they have been some of the best bats in the lineup for the Guardians, bringing both power and consistency. Martinez is now up to nine home runs this season, while DeLauter has seven and Rocchio has four. They each are all batting over .260 with a combined 43 extra-base knocks.

"I mean all of them were awesome," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said about the home runs on Sunday. "They all came at huge times, especially the ones late. I think DeLauter getting the one of the first on the board. It just seemed like we just kept adding on, and that's such a huge momentum burst for us to get through the game and not have to use leverage guys. Just a fun day all around."

Ramírez, on the other hand, is the one who has seen the biggest dry spell of the bunch. He hadn't been able to get going for many outings, with the coaching staff deciding to move him up in the lineup to the No. 2 spot.

Well, it seemed like that plan is working out as on the first pitch of his eighth-inning at-bat, he belted a two-run shot over 400 feet into right-center field.

While most of the attention was drawn to the way of the deep ball, rightfully so, Cleveland also had a great performance from former No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana. The Australian put together his first three-hit game, singling to left field for each knock.

Since being called up, Bazzana has slowly gotten better and more comfortable by the game.

"Travis doesn't try to do too much," Vogt said about what has been working. "We know he's got pull-side power, but teams aren't challenging him in right now, they're pitching away, and if you keep doing what you're doing, you keep driving the ball the other way, guess what they have to do? They start challening you in."

On Saturday, Cleveland displayed probably it's best bullpen, flashing four innings of nearly perfect ball. On Sunday, the team displayed probably it's best performance from the plate in the power department.

In total, they finished with 12 hits, six home runs and four walks drawn in the series finale.

If these last few outings at home can be built into momentum for two tough road series against the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies, the Guardians are going to be in a great spot.

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