Guardians win, but closer Emmanuel Clase falters again, blowing a 3-run lead in the 9th

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Cleveland Guardians are still waiting for Emmanuel Clase to regain his usual form.

Clase allowed three runs in the ninth inning against Pittsburgh on Sunday for his second blown save of the season, and although he got the win when Cleveland prevailed 5-4 in 10, it was another concerning outing by the right-hander who finished third in the American League Cy Young race last year.

Clase exceeded 40 saves each of the past three seasons and posted a 0.61 ERA in 2024. This year, he's already allowed nine earned runs after yielding five all of last season.

With the Guardians leading 4-1 on Sunday, manager Stephen Vogt brought in Clase. It was his third straight day coming in out of the bullpen, although he'd thrown only 15 pitches combined Friday and Saturday.

A walk and a pair of doubles made it 4-3, then one out later, Ke'Bryan Hayes tied it with an RBI single. With two on, Clase finally got out of the inning thanks to a double play.

"I haven’t watched the replays, but any time they’re finding barrels, it’s just in the middle,” Vogt told MLB.com. “The walk, kind of bad counts. But the ball is just in the middle of the plate right now.”

It was the first time Clase allowed three earned runs in an outing since Aug. 12, 2023 against Tampa Bay.

After Cleveland scored in the top of the 10th to take the lead, Joey Cantillo took the mound and threw a scoreless inning for the first save of his career — in the majors or the minors.

Clase has 162 big league saves. But right now he also has a 7.84 ERA in 2025, and that's turned his appearances into more of an adventure than Cleveland is used to.

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