CLEVELAND (AP) — Shane Bieber shut down Cincinnati for six innings and the Cleveland Guardians sent manager Terry Francona off with a victory Wednesday night in his final home game, 4-3 over the Reds, whose playoff hopes are hanging by a thread.
Bieber (6-6) limited the Reds to one run and five hits in just his second start since July 15 — and maybe his last for Cleveland. The right-hander missed more than two months with elbow inflammation, one of several key injuries that contributed to the Guardians not defending their AL Central title.
The Reds are in danger of missing the postseason as well. They fell two games behind Chicago in the NL wild-card race with just three games left.
The Guardians strung together five straight hits in the second inning off Reds starter Andrew Abbott (8-6), who didn’t get out of the third inning. Tyler Freeman and rookie Brayan Rocchio had RBI singles in Cleveland’s second.
Down 4-1, the Reds rallied with a pair of runs in the eighth off reliever Trevor Stephan. Pinch-hitter Nick Martini and Jonathan India hit consecutive doubles and Spencer Steer’s RBI groundout brought Cincinnati within one run.
Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his MLB-best 43rd save. The right-hander got a big assist from right fielder Ramón Laureano, who threw out Noelvi Marte trying to stretch a single into a double.
Francona was honored before the game with a touching video tribute chronicling his long tenure in Cleveland, a run that actually began in his boyhood as his dad, Tito, played six seasons as an outfielder with the Indians.
The 64-year-old Francona has been slowed by major health issues in recent years, and said he made the decision to step away after a tough, two-month stretch earlier this season.
He’s the winningest manager in Cleveland…