Aussie’s landmark homer in vain as Rays level series
Rob Forsaith |
Travis Bazzana has smacked his first ever home run in Major League Baseball (MLB) playoffs, but the Australian failed to stop a sloppy Cleveland slipping to a 7-3 home loss that levelled their series against Tampa Bay.
Bazzana, who made his MLB debut in April and is gunning to cap a dream first season with a title, struck the ball sweetly in the bottom of the seventh in game four.
The Sydney product slickly deposited the ball over the right-field fence at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland on Saturday (SundayAEDT), with broadcast analysis tracking the 374-feet hit as travelling at 174 km/h off the bat.
Bazzana’s solo homer helped the Guardians bridge the Rays’ lead to 5-3.
However, Tampa Bay closed out the victory with two more runs in the ninth inning to level the best-of-seven American League Championship Series (ALCS) at 2-2.
Bazzana’s thunderous strike triggered rapturous applause from local fans, although he also had a fielding error at second during Cleveland’s most lopsided loss in a tick over a month.
Game five is in Cleveland on Sunday (Monday AEDT) before the series shifts back to Florida on Monday, with no travel day scheduled because Friday’s match was postponed by rain.
“We’ve been in situations where it gets tighter, gets hotter a little closer to the end of the season. You just have to fight for that next win,” Bazzana told reporters.
“We’ve seen this kind of situation before and I’m sure we’ll bounce back … come back stronger tomorrow.”
The winner of the current series will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the championship-deciding World Series.
Bazzana, who became the first ever Australian to be recruited with the No.1 pick in the MLB draft when his name was read out in 2024, has been far from a bit-part player this October.
The 24-year-old has been stationed at seventh in Cleveland’s batting order, while fielding at second base during the pressure-laden playoffs.
The All-Star is just the seventh Australian to feature in the MLB post-season, while he has a golden chance to join Grant Balfour and Graeme Lloyd – both pitchers – in an exclusive club of Aussies to play in a World Series.
Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead in the sixth then broke open the game in a three-run seventh, when Jonathan Aranda’s single led to two runs after the ball got by right fielder Chase DeLauter.
Aranda lined a single past a diving Bazzana, who was playing near the grass between first and second, and into right field.
Richie Palacios scored and when DeLauter allowed the ball under his glove, Taylor Walls came around from second. Aranda went all the way to third and scored on Simpson’s sacrifice fly.
“A couple unfortunate plays for us tonight that we usually complete and just weren’t able to do it,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said.
Nick Martinez pitched 5 1/3 innings for his first post-season win. After DeLauter’s RBI single put Cleveland up 1-0 in the first, Martinez retired 10 straight at one point before walking Bazzana leading off the fifth.
With AP.
AAP