CLEVELAND — Kyle Manzardo is getting the hang of this walk-off thing.
“Those situations are what you dream of growing up,” Manzardo said.
With the Guardians’ playoff hopes barely flickering, Manzardo smacked a two-out RBI single to center field, lifting Cleveland to a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 27 at Progressive Field. It was the third walk-off hit of Manzardo’s career — all occurring this season.
The win gave the Guardians (66-66) a 2-1 series triumph over the Rays (64-69), and the outcome adds some juice to Cleveland’s upcoming three-game home series Aug. 29-31 against the Seattle Mariners. The Guardians had lost six consecutive games before capturing two wins in a row. They are five games behind the Mariners for the American League’s third and final wild-card playoff spot.
Nolan Jones forces extra innings between Guardians and Rays with solo homer in ninth inning
The Guardians trailed the Rays 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Nolan Jones blasted a one-out solo home run 428 feet to right-center field off Tampa Bay closer Pete Fairbanks, tying the score and forcing extra innings.
“Hopefully that’s a swing that in a couple of weeks we could talk about and say started a streak and now we’re looking at playoffs,” Jones said.
Guardians video: Kyle Manzardo breaks down walk-off hit in 10th inning
The Cleveland Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Rays with Kyle Manzardo delivering a walk-off hit. Manzardo discussed the clutch at-bat in this video.
The 25-year-old Manzardo finished the job, though it didn’t seem to be in the cards for a moment.
With Steven Kwan on second base and Angel Martinez on third, Manzardo swung and missed on right-handed reliever Griffin Jax’s first two pitches of the at-bat. On the third pitch, Manzardo drilled the decisive line drive to center field.
“I made the decision before the at-bat that I needed to get on a fastball,” said Manzardo, a designated hitter and first baseman. “I’d been getting beat by them this whole series. So pretty much just made the conscious effort to do everything I could to get on his fastball. It’s a good pitch. All of his pitches are good, but just selling out to that.”
As a Cleveland Guardians rookie, Kyle Manzardo also found success against relief pitcher Griffin Jax
Manzardo entered the at-bat 0-for-4 in the game and 1-for-11 in the series. However, he had previously experienced success against Jax, hitting a go-ahead, two-run homer off him last season in the eighth inning of Cleveland’s 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sept. 16, 2024.
Earlier this season, Manzardo produced a walk-off single on Aug. 1 and a walk-off solo homer on April 29. Both clutch hits came against the Twins.
Manzardo’s most recent walk-off hit required discipline. It happened while the Guardians rested six-time All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez and needed someone else to rise to the occasion.
“It’s real easy to leave the fastball in that moment, and Manzo didn’t,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He got a mistake, and he put a good swing on it and won the game.”
Manzardo delivered against his former organization. In 2023, the Rays traded him to the Guardians for pitcher Aaron Civale.
Did the connection make Manzardo’s most recent walk-off hit any more special than the others?
“A little bit,” Manzardo said before backtracking. “I don’t think so. I mean, any walk off, it’s going to feel great.”
Manzardo became the seventh Cleveland player since 1974 to compile three walk-off hits in a season. He is one of four players in MLB to produce three walk-off hits this season.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.