CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Guardians (32-23) returned home to begin a three-game series with the Washington Nationals (27-27) on Monday, May 25.
The Nationals won the series opener 10-2 after the Guardians had won six of seven games during a May 18-24 road trip — a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers before winning two of three against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Here’s how the game unfolded through our live updates.
Zack Littell pitches scoreless ninth inning against Guardians; Nationals win 10-2
Zack Littell pitched a scoreless ninth inning against the Guardians and the Guardians win 10-2.
Kyle Manzardo grounded out 6-3 (shortstop Nasim Nuñez to first baseman Luis García Jr.), Angel Martinez popped out to Nuñez and Steven Kwan grounded out 6-3.
Logan Allen pitches scoreless ninth inning for Guardians; Nationals lead 10-2
Logan Allen pitched a scoreless ninth inning against the Nationals. Curtis Mead flied out to begin the inning and Jose Tena struck out. Dylan Crews lined a double and then Daylen Lile flied out to Steven Kwan in center field to end the inning.
Zack Littell pitches scoreless eighth inning against Guardians; Nationals lead 10-2
Zack Littell pitched a scoreless eighth inning against the Guardians. Travis Bazzana flied out, David Fry struck out swinging, Petey Halpin singled and Rhys Hoskins struck out looking to end the inning.
Logan Allen pitches scoreless eighth inning for Guardians; Nationals lead 10-2
Logan Allen pitched a scoreless eighth inning against the Nationals. Jacob Young struck out to begin the inning and Drew Millas grounded out to first baseman Kyle Manzardo. Nasim Nunez and James Wood each singled. Luis Garcia Jr. struck out looking to end the inning.
Zack Littell pitches scoreless seventh inning against Guardians; Nationals lead 10-2
Zack Littell pitched a scoreless seventh inning against the Guardians. Angel Martinez and Steven Kwan each flied out to left fielder Daylen Lile, Patrick Bailey singled and Brayan Rocchio flied out to right fielder Dylan Crews.
Logan Allen pitches scoreless seventh inning for Guardians; Nationals lead 10-2
Logan Allen pitched a scoreless seventh inning as he retired the Nationals in order. CJ Abrams struck out swinging, Dylan Crews grounded out and Daylen Lile flied out.
Zack Littell pitches scoreless sixth inning against Guardians; Nationals lead 10-2
Zack Littell pitched a scoreless sixth inning as he retired the Guardians in order. Chase DeLauter grounded out. Rhys Hoskins and Kyle Manzardo each struck out swinging.
Guardians pitching change: Logan Allen replaces Matt Festa in sixth inning; Nationals extend lead to 10-2
Guardians pitching change: Logan Allen replaces Matt Festa in sixth inning. The Nationals extend their lead to 10-2 with two unearned runs.
Daylen Lile walked, Jacob Young singled and Drew Millas reached base via a Jose Ramirez error to start the inning. Allen gets Nasim Nunez and James Wood to each strike out swinging, but Luis Garica delivers a single that scores Lile and Young to make to 10-2. Allen gets Curtis Mead to srike out swinging to end the inning.
Zack Littell pitches scoreless fifth inning against Guardians; Nationals lead 8-2
Zack Littell pitched a scoreless fifth inning as he retired the Guardians in order. Brayan Rocchio flied out, Travis Bazzana struck out looking and Jose Ramirez grounded out.
Curtis Mead hits solo home run to give Nationals 8-2 lead over Guardians in fifth inning
Curtis Mead hits a solo home run off of Matt Festa to give the Nationals an 8-2 lead over the Guardians with one out in the fifth inning. Mead cleared the fence in left field. The ball traveled 373 feet.
Luis Garcia started the inning with a ground out and then Mead hit his second home run of the game. CJ Abrams popped out and Dylan Crews struck out swinging to end the inning.
Angel Martinez hits RBI double for Guardians to trim Nationals lead to 7-2 in fourth inning
Angel Martinez hits an RBI double for the Guardians to trim the Nationals lead to 7-2 with two outs in the fourth inning.
Zack Littell started the inning with two strikeouts against Chase DeLauter and Rhys Hoskins. Kyle Manzardo walks and scores on Martinez’s double to left field. Steven Kwan works a walk, but is stranded when Patrick Bailey pops out to second baseman Nasim Nunez to end the inning.
Guardians pitching change: Matt Festa replaces Tanner Bibee in fourth inning; Nationals lead 7-1
Guardians pitching change: Matt Festa replaces Tanner Bibee in fourth inning. The Nationals lead 7-1.
Festa works a scoreless inning. Drew Millas and Nasim Nunez each ground out. James Wood smacks a hit to left field and tries to stretch a single into a double, but is out Angel Martinez makes the throw and second baseman Travis Bazzana appiles the tag.
Nationals pitching change: Zack Littell replaces PJ Poulin in third inning; Guardians trail 7-1
Nationals pitching change: Zack Littell replaces PJ Poulin in third inning. The Guardians trail 7-1.
Littell works a scoreless inning. Patrick Bailey flies out to to left fielder Daylen Lile to begin the inning. Brayan Rocchio smacks a hit to left field and tries to stretch a single into a double, but is out as Lile makes the throw and second baseman Nasim Nuñez appiles the tag.
Travis Bazzana follows with a double to right field, but is stranded when Jose Ramirez grounds out 4-1 (second baseman Nasim Nuñez to pitcher Zack Littell).
CJ Abrams hits solo home run to give Nationals 7-1 lead over Guardians in third inning
CJ Abrams hits a solo home run off of Tanner Bibee to begin the third inning and give the Nationals a 7-1 lead over the Guardians. Abrams cleared the fence in right field. The ball traveled 403 feet.
Dylan Crews lines a single off of Bibee, Daylen Lile strikes out swinging and Jacob Young grounds into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Rhys Hoskins hits solo home run for Guardians in second inning, Nationals lead 6-1
Rhys Hoskins hits a home run for the Guardians off of PJ Poulin to begin the second inning and trim the Nationals lead to 6-1. Hoskins cleared the fence in left field. The ball traveled 377 feet.
Poulin walks Kyle Manzardo, gets Angel Martinez to fly out to right fielder Dylan Crews and gets Steven Kwan to ground into a 6-3 double play (shortstop CJ Abrams to first baseman Luis Garcia Jr.).
Luis Garcia Jr. hits two-run home run to give Nationals 6-0 lead over Guardians in second inning
Luis Garica Jr. hits a two-run home run off of Tanner Bibee to give the Nationals a 6-0 lead over the Guardians with two outs in the second inning. Garcia cleared the fence in right field with a line drive. The ball traveled 352 feet.
James Wood singled to left-center field ahead of Garica’s home run. Bibee has made 49 pitches.
Three pitches later, Bibee is out of the inning as Curtis Mead flies out to center fielder.
Bibee has made 52 pitches and allowed four home runs to trail 6-0.
Jacob Young hits solo home run to give Nationals 4-0 lead over Guardians in second inning
Jacob Young hits a solo home run off of Tanner Bibee to begin the second inning and give the Nationals a 4-0 lead over the Guardians. Young cleared the fence in left-center field. The ball traveled 389 feet.
Drew Millas pops out to third baseman Jose Ramirez and Nasim Nunez strikes out swinging after Young’s home run.
Nationals starter PJ Poulin pitches scoreless first inning against Guardians
Nationals starter PJ Poulin pitches a scoreless first inning against the Guardians. The Nationals lead 3-0.
Travis Bazzana grounded out 6-3 (shortstop CJ Abrams to first baseman Luis Garcia Jr.), Jose Ramirez singled to left field and Chase DeLauter grounded into a 3-6-3 double play.
Curtis Mead hits two-run home run to give Nationals 3-0 lead over Guardians in first inning
Curtis Mead hits a two-run home run off of Tanner Bibee to give the Nationals a 3-0 lead over the Guardians in the first inning. Mead cleared the fence in left-center field. The ball traveled 401 feet.
Luis Garcia Jr. doubled to left-center field ahead of Mead’s home run. Bibee has made 14 pitches in seven minutes and the Guardians trail 3-0.
Bibee bounces back to retire the next three batters. CJ Abrams struck out swinging, Dylan Crews popped out to first baseman Kyle Manzardo and Daylen Lile grounds out 3-1 (Manzardo to Bibee).
James Wood hits leadoff home run to give Nationals 1-0 lead over Guardians in first inning
James Wood hits a leadoff home run off of Tanner Bibee to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead over the Guardians in the first inning. Wood cleared the fence in right-center field. The ball traveled 412 feet.
Guardians place Erik Sabrowski on injured list, recall Codi Heuer from Columbus
The Guardians placed left-handed relief pitcher Erik Sabrowski on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation. The club recalled right-handed relief pitcher Codi Heuer from Columbus.
When do the Guardians play today?
First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. ET.
Where to watch Guardians game tonight?
The Guardians-Nationals game is on Guardians TV.
Guardians lineup today vs. Nationals
Nationals lineup today vs. Guardians
Guardians vs. Nationals starting pitchers today
Right-handed pitcher Tanner Bibee (0-6, 3.75 ERA) will take the mound for the Guardians and the Nationals will counter with left-handed pitcher PJ Poulin (3-0, 3.32 ERA).
Poulin is expected to be “the opener.” The Nationals originally listed right-handed pitcher Zack Littell (3-4, 5.83 ERA) as the starter.
American League Central Division standings
Guardians record in May features 7-game winning streak
The Guardians have won 11 of their last 13 games and enter Monday 16-7 in May.
The Guardians posted a season-high seven-game win streak, May 16-22:
The Phillies beat the Guardians 3-0 May 23 to snap the streak before the the Guardians were 3-1 winners May 24 in the series finale.
Cleveland allowed 12 runs during the seven-game road trip, posting an MLB-best 1.43 ERA on the trip (10 ER/63.0 IP). The Guardians allowed five runs in 35 innings over the final four games of the trip, and limited the Phillies to four runs in three games.
The Guardians are 15-10 at home and 17-13 on the road.
The Nationals are 17-11 on the road and 10-16 at home.
Guardians vs. Nationals pitching probables
Akron Beacon Journal sports writer Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians score vs. Nationals. Tanner Bibee shelled in Cleveland loss
Reporting by Michael Beaven, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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