Guardians hang on to beat Blue Jays 4-3

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Rookie Brayan Rocchio had 2 doubles and 2 RBI as the Cleveland Guardians nipped Toronto 4-3 Thursday afternoon, splitting the 4-game series.

“It’ll be interesting to see where it goes,” manager Terry Francona said of Rocchio, “because he kinda has all the tools.”

Rocchio filled in at third base for Jose Ramirez, who served as the DH.

Reliever Trevor Stephan worked out of a key 7th-inning bases-loaded jam to preserve the lead, setting up Emmanuel Clase for his 31st save of the season.

That 7th inning included an ejection of Toronto outfielder George Springer for arguing a 3rd-strike call.

Another rookie, Jose Tena, started at shortstop; he collected 2 hits and drove in a run.

“The focus was just to make good contact,” Tena said, “and everything else will take care of itself. It’s gonna be a special present for my mom.”

Starter Noah Syndergaard went 5.2 innings, striking out 5.

The teams combined for just 13 runs in the 4-game set. Each team won a game 1-0.

Cleveland is now 56-60 on the season and will hit the road for a 3-game weekend series in Tampa followed by 2 games in Cincinnati.

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