Cleveland Guardians at Baltimore Orioles

There was a point Tuesday when the Guardians were teetering on the edge of disaster. An early 6-0 lead was all but gone, after the Orioles scored five unanswered runs that ignited Camden Yards and flipped momentum in their direction. Cleveland absorbed a blow. It responded to secure a key win in their push for the postseason. “Huge, huge team win all around tonight,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. The Guardians beat the Orioles, 9-5, on Tuesday behind a pair of big innings: a four-run second inning and a three-run seventh. The former helped build an early lead, and the latter was their response to Baltimore’s comeback attempt that abruptly ended starter Tanner Bibee’s night. At the center of each rally were a pair of impressive at-bats. Travis Bazzana blasted a three-run shot to cap off a nine-pitch sequence in the second, and Brayan Rocchio delivered a two-run single in the seventh. The Guardians (74-72) now sit two games behind the American League Central-leading White Sox, following Chicago’s 9-3 loss to the Pirates. Cleveland also held on to the final AL Wild Card spot, while putting a dent into the hopes of an Orioles club that is trying to chase it down. Here are three things that stood out from the win. **1\. Bazzana’s early cushion** The Guardians’ first three hitters reached safely in the second, but they were in danger of coming out of it with only one run. Bazzana came to the plate against right-hander Brandon Young with runners at the corners and two outs. He swung and missed at a four-seamer to fall into a 2-2 count. Bazzana fouled off the next three pitches (two four-seamers and one slider), and took a splitter low and off the outside corner. Young’s ninth pitch of the sequence was a heater over the heart of the plate. Bazzana hit it a Statcast-projected 378 feet for a three-run home run.