Josh Naylor's 3 RBIs sends Guardians to 6-2 win, sweep of A's and continues best start since 1999

CLEVELAND (AP) — Josh Naylor delivered a clutch, three-run double in the seventh inning as the Guardians continued their best start in 25 years with a 6-2 win over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.

With the Guardians up 3-2, Naylor, who celebrated a two-run homer on Saturday by bashing the top of his helmet with his bat before rounding the bases, fell behind 0-2 in the count before doubling with the bases loaded off left-hander T.J. McFarland.

Naylor is batting .406 (13 of 32) with 14 RBIs in nine home games.

“He’s something else right now,” said Guardians first-year manager Stephen Vogt.

The surprising Guardians have won four straight, seven of eight and improved the AL’s best record to 16-6. This is the club’s best start since Cleveland had the same mark through 22 games in 1999.

Naylor has been a rowdy ringleader, with his passion impacting Cleveland's entire roster.

“It just gives energy to the other guys, right?” Vogt said. “When he gets going you can’t help but smile and laugh and you get fired up with him. That's what he brings on top of being a great player and great teammate.

"He shows his personality and gets everybody fired up.”

Vogt joked that he's no longer watching when Naylor comes up big.

“I've started to look away after that stuff happens, just so I don’t see it,” he cracked.

Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee (2-0) allowed two runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings. The right-hander gave up a two-out RBI single in the sixth before Vogt dipped into his bullpen, which came in with a 2.19 ERA.

Tim Herrin, Nick Sandlin, Cade Smith and closer Emmanuel Clase held the A's scoreless over the final 3 1/3 innings.

Will Brennan homered for the Guardians, who finished off the A’s while All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez got a day off.

Oakland has lost seven straight games in Cleveland and the A's have gone 3-17 against the Guardians in the past three years.

The way the Guardians are playing right now, there's little margin for error. A's manager Mark Kotsay bemoaned chances his team missed.

“That's what really good teams do,” he said. “They capitalize on mistakes. From a hitting standpoint, you make mistakes and they end up taking advantage of it. They put the ball in play. They don’t strike out a ton. And that’s where we really battled today with getting ahead of guys and just not being able to finish.”

Brennan's homer in the second came off Ross Stripling (0-5), who is 0-10 over the last two seasons with Oakland and San Francisco. He's the first A's pitcher to lose his first five starts since Mike Morris dropped six straight in 1979.

Stripling was solid, allowing three runs and five hits in five innings.

“He just couldn’t finish,” Kotsay said. “We played good defense overall. They found holes. He still gave us an opportunity to be in the game, be competitive. Back-to-back days at 3-2 in the seventh and we let it get away from us.”

Brent Rooker homered for the A's.

Brennan, who hit a pinch-hit homer in Boston earlier this week, connected with one out in the second — just the 13th homer allowed by Oakland's staff this season. The A's gave up a team record 213 homers in 2023.

Athletics: Oakland has nine players on the injured list. The A's have had at least eight players on the IL since June 16, 2023.

Guardians: RHP Gavin Williams (elbow) flew to Cleveland after pitching three innings in Arizona on Saturday. He'll be checked by the team's medical and training staffs before making the next step in his return. Williams got hurt while throwing a weighted ball in training camp and essentially had to restart his pitching program.

Athletics: Open a four-game series at Yankee Stadium with JP Sears (1-1, 4.35 ERA) facing LHP Carlos Rodón.

Guardians: Following an off day, start a three-game series against Boston with RHP Ben Lively (0-1, 3.60) pitching the opener against RHP Tanner Houck (3-1, 1.35), who blanked Cleveland on three hits last week at Fenway Park.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

Cleveland Guardians' Bo Naylor, left, celebrates after hitting a double during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase, right, and Bo Naylor (23) celebrate after their win over the Oakland Athletics in a baseball game, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians' Josh Naylor runs out a three-run double during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians' Ramón Laureano catches a fly ball hit by Oakland Athletics' Lawrence Butler during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians' Andrés Giménez hits an RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Oakland Athletics' Brent Rooker celebrates with teammates after hitting a solo home run off Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians' Gabriel Arias runs out an RBI single during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians' Brayan Rocchio, top, covers as Oakland Athletics' Zack Gelof, bottom, steals second base during the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians' Will Brennan celebrates after hitting a solo home run off Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Ross Stripling during the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians' Will Brennan hits a solo home run off Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Ross Stripling during the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians' Josh Naylor celebrates after hitting a three-run double during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians' Josh Naylor starts to run out a three-run double during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

CHICAGO (AP) — Clarke Schmidt and Nestor Cortes combined on a four-hitter, and the New York Yankees clinched their 32nd straight winning season by blanking the Chicago Cubs 2-0 on Saturday.

Schmidt pitched 4 2/3 innings of four-hit ball in his first big league game since May 26. Cortes (9-10) closed it out in his first relief appearance since 2021.

Coupled with Baltimore's 7-1 loss to Tampa Bay, New York moved back into first in the AL East. The Yankees (82-60) lead the Orioles by a half-game.

Cortes admitted he was upset when he learned he was going to pitch in relief.

“I’m never going to back down from a challenge,” Cortes said. “I’m never going to leave my teammates out to dry. You’re always going to get my best effort no matter if I’m happy or not. That’s what I did today. I came out there and proved I can be put in any situation. From here on out, if that’s my role, I’ll accept it.”

Schmidt had been sidelined by a right lat strain. He threw 75 pitches, 44 for strikes.

"I felt like I still had a lot of strength and I wasn’t fatiguing at all,” Schmidt said.

New York posted its second straight shutout to secure its first series win since it took two of three against Colorado from Aug. 23-25. The 32 straight seasons with a winning record is the second-longest such period in major league history, trailing a run of 39 consecutive seasons for the Yankees from 1926-64.

Chicago (72-70) has lost four of five on a crucial homestand as it tries to rally in the race for the third NL wild card. It beat Pittsburgh 12-0 on Wednesday, but it has managed a total of three other runs in its last five games, getting shut out three times.

“We feel like we have a good enough ballclub to be in the playoffs and in the picture, but we’re going to have to play a little bit better and keep pushing here,” left fielder Ian Happ said.

Cubs right-hander Javier Assad (7-5) allowed one earned run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings.

New York scored its first run when Austin Wells drove in Gleyber Torres with a groundout in the first. The Yankees made it 2-0 in the sixth when Aaron Judge swiped third as part of a double steal and scampered home on catcher Christian Bethancourt’s throwing error.

Judge, who leads the majors with 51 homers, went 0 for 3 with a walk. He hasn’t homered in 11 games in his longest streak of the season.

The Cubs had their best scoring opportunity in the fifth. Pete Crow-Armstrong singled with one out, but was caught stealing. Patrick Wisdom then tripled to right, but he was stranded when Cortes got Bethancourt to foul out.

“He handled it really well, came into a high-leverage situation with a runner on third and got the job done,” Wells said of Cortes. “From there, cruised.”

Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo heard more cheers in his second game back at Wrigley Field since he was traded by Chicago to New York in July 2021. He tipped his cap before his first at-bat and reached second on Crow-Armstrong’s dropped catch in center.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: Schmidt and RHP Ian Hamilton (right lat strain) were reinstated from the 60-day injured list before the game. RHPs Phil Bickford and Nick Burdi were designated for assignment.

Cubs: LHP Justin Steele (left elbow tendinitis) was scheduled to play catch Saturday. He went on the 15-day IL on Wednesday. ... RHP Hayden Wesneski (right forearm strain) threw an inning at Triple-A Iowa.

UP NEXT

RHP Gerrit Cole (6-3, 3.65 ERA) is slated to start for New York on Sunday on his 34th birthday. RHP Jameson Taillon (9-8, 3.66 ERA) takes the mound for Chicago in the finale of the weekend set. Taillon went 22-11 with a 4.08 ERA with the Yankees in 2021 and 2022.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt reacts in the dugout after being pulled during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

New York Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton, right, celebrates with teammate Gleyber Torres (25) after Torres scored on an Austin Wells ground out during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Chicago Cubs starter Javier Assad delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees in Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring on a throwing error by the catcher during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

New York Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)