CLEVELAND (AP) — Amed Rosario hit a mammoth three-run homer and rookie Oscar Gonzalez added a solo shot, sending the Cleveland Guardians to a 7-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
Rosario’s career-long, 450-foot drive to dead center was the longest of the season at Progressive Field, topping the 447-footer by Boston’s Alex Verdugo on June 25. His sixth homer of the year lifted Cleveland to a 4-0 lead in the fifth.
“Where he hit the ball, that was big boy territory there,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “Amed is so steady at a high level.”
Shane Bieber (6-6) struck out eight over six innings in his 100th career start, extending his winning streak in interleague games to eight. The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner permitted two runs and four hits without issuing a walk.
Gonzalez homered off Kevin Ginkel in the sixth and doubled home a run in the seventh to push the Guardians’ advantage to 7-2. José Ramírez and Myles Straw also drove in a run as Cleveland remained one game behind AL Central-leading Minnesota.
“I get to see Amed every day in practice and I know he has that power, so really, it doesn’t surprise me,” Gonzalez said. “I know he has the talent and the power to be able to put up these type of at-bats.”
Arizona left-hander Tommy Henry (0-1) pitched five innings in his major league debut, surrendering four runs and four hits. The native of Portage, Michigan — a four-hour drive from Cleveland — had a 150-person cheering section behind home plate.
Henry described Rosario’s long homer as “a slider that didn’t slide, and that’s kind of what happens when you do that.”
“This is the dream you have since you first picked up a baseball, so to have so many people share it with me was really special,”…
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