Veterans fuel 11-inning victory for MLB's youngest team

TORONTO -- Credit this one to the scrappy veterans.

The Guardians refused to stay down in Sunday afternoon’s 11-inning marathon against the Blue Jays, twice coming back from a deficit to take the series finale, 10-7, at Rogers Centre.

“That’s the [spirit] that this team has,” said Ramón Laureano. “We keep grinding. Everybody is a grinder, and we have that in our blood. I can see it here, and that’s what you guys just saw.”

It started and ended with the lineup’s tenured bats.

Kole Calhoun sparked the Guardians’ four-run top of the 11th with a two-run double to break the 6-6 tie -- the last of three hits on the day for the newly converted first baseman. Laureano, who had a three-hit game of his own, all but sealed the win with a two-run homer to left-center field that left his bat at 104.4 mph.

Closer Emmanuel Clase shut the door on the other end, pitching 1 2/3 frames with two strikeouts, one hit, one walk and an unearned run.

It was the type of gritty win that could carry momentum as the Guardians head to Minnesota for a crucial three-game set. Cleveland remains six games back of the Twins for the American League Central lead, but a series win could put the Guards in a better position entering the final month of the regular season.

“Huge game,” Calhoun said of the comeback win in Toronto. “Hopefully we can use that momentum as we roll into the biggest series of the year for us right now. That’s a game that you can definitely build on.”

It’s also one that carries valuable lessons for the youngsters in the Guardians’ lineup, who also contributed plenty to the series win in Toronto.

The 24-year-old Andrés Giménez headlined that group on Sunday, hitting a clutch two-run double in the eighth to score Laureano and Calhoun and briefly give the Guardians a one-run lead. The Blue Jays tied it in the home half of the inning on Daulton Varsho’s RBI single off of Trevor Stephan. Neither team scored again until the 11th.

“Huge win,” said Giménez. “We have a big series coming up against Minnesota. Those three games are going to be important for us, so winning today was huge.”

What’s it like having game-changing veterans such as Laureano and Calhoun on their side?

“We’re a young team, so having those kinds of leaders in the clubhouse and in the game is huge for us young guys,” said Giménez. “We can learn from them. From every experience, every at-bat that they have, we can learn from them.”

Though a guy like José Ramírez -- who hit a game-tying two-run homer for his 21st of the season in the third inning -- has been imparting his knowledge on this young lineup for a while, Laureano and Calhoun are newcomers.

The Guardians claimed Laureano off waivers from the A’s on Aug. 7, while Calhoun joined Cleveland through an Aug. 4 trade with the Dodgers after appearing in 35 Triple-A games for the organization.

Since then, Laureano has hit .255 with an .807 OPS and nine RBIs over 16 games. Calhoun, meanwhile, owns a .288 average with 11 RBIs over 17 contests -- all while holding his own at first base. That was evident in the ninth, when Calhoun fielded a bunt from Cavan Biggio with the game tied at 6 and a runner on second, sending a laser to third base to nab the lead runner.

“I don’t really know what I’m doing over there,” Calhoun said jokingly. “It came my way and I thought I had a shot at third, and I took a chance. It worked out. I don’t have a lot of reps in bunt situations. To be on a stage like this and have it come [my way], it just kind of worked out.”

With a steep climb ahead in their search for a postseason spot, these are more than feel-good stories for the Guardians.

“I've said it multiple times, because I mean it: Calhoun is … he's a baseball player,” said manager Terry Francona. “ … He's out there every day taking ground balls, and he’s a gym rat. And we're lucky to have Laureano chipping in and doing some things, too.

“And they’ve been hitting in the middle of the order. They've done a really good job.”