Cleveland Guardians vs New York Yankees Match Player Stats On Aug 30, 2017 Game 2

The Sports Xchange
Aug 30, 2017

NEW YORK -- Ryan Merritt pitched effectively into the sixth inning while Edwin Encarnacion, Yan Gomes and Francisco Lindor homered as the Cleveland Indians completed a doubleheader sweep of the New York Yankees with a 9-4 victory on Wednesday.

Jose Ramirez had four hits and Trevor Bauer won his seventh straight decision in Cleveland's 2-1 victory in the opener. The Indians then completed their first three-game sweep of the Yankees since April 7-9, 1989, at Yankee Stadium thanks to Merritt and the power display.

Merritt (2-0) started instead of Josh Tomlin, whose activation from the disabled list will likely occur this weekend in Detroit. Merritt held the Yankees to one run and five hits in 5 1/3 innings while not throwing any pitch faster than 87.8 mph.

Encarnacion helped make things comfortable for Merritt by producing in his first two at-bats after sitting out the opener. He started the four-run first inning off New York left-hander Jordan Montgomery (7-7) with an RBI single and hit his 31st homer in the fifth, marking the sixth straight season the first baseman surpassed 30 homers.

Carlos Santana and Austin Jackson added RBI doubles while Yandy Diaz contributed a two-run single as Cleveland won its seventh straight and improved to 16-4 in its last 20 games.

Gomes and Lindor capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the seventh and a solo shot in the eighth. Lindor's homer was his 25th, tying the team record for a shortstop set by Asdrubal Cabrera in 2011.

Montgomery allowed four runs and six hits in four innings.

Greg Bird hit a three-run homer in the ninth after getting an RBI single in the second while Aaron Hicks tied a career high with four hits for the Yankees, who dropped five of seven to Cleveland.

Aaron Judge returned to the starting lineup after getting the previous two games off. After striking out as a pinch hitter to end the opener, the right fielder was 1-for-3 in the nightcap.

Cleveland struck quickly for two runs again when Encarnacion singled up the middle. Three pitches later, Santana's double bounced up into left field after caroming off the third base bag.

The Indians added on this time, taking a 4-0 lead when Diaz singled in the runners from second and third.

The Yankees got a run back in the third on Bird's broken-bat single but Cleveland upped the lead to 5-1 when Encarnacion drove a 1-2 fastball from Chasen Shreve into the left field seats to start the fifth.

NOTES: LHP Andrew Miller (right knee patella tendonitis) has resumed throwing but Cleveland manager Terry Francona said Miller is not ready to toss off the mound. ... Cleveland LF Brandon Guyer exited the game after the top of the fourth due to a neck strain. The Indians said Guyer's exit was for precautionary reasons. ... New York CF Aaron Hicks tied a career high with his first career four-hit game.