Nolan Jones hit a game-tying homer off Pete Fairbanks in the bottom of the ninth before the Guardians went on to beat the Rays 4-3 in 10 innings on Wednesday.
Kyle Manzardo had the game-ending hit off Griffin Jax after the Rays failed to score in their half of the 10th. Jones already had a single on the day before his 428-foot blast. It was just his second start in seven games, but he might have a bigger role going forward with the Guardians seemingly partly or fully moving on from Carlos Santana. Jones is batting just .215/.309/.305 in 344 plate appearances, but Statcast thinks he’s been pretty unlucky. Today’s homer was only his fifth, even though he has 18 barrels. His hard-hit rate sits at 47%, and his 26.7% strikeout rate, while not great, is considerably better than his career mark of 30.4%.