Rafael Devers and the Giants were no match for 'Guards Ball'

The end of Monday’s game had everything needed for a storybook ending for Giants fans. 

New acquisition Rafael Devers knocked a single to put the go-ahead run on base in the ninth inning, which put the Giants in the driver’s seat for a walk-off win. It was the kind of moment destined to be in YouTube montages and highlight reels forever. 

Instead the Guardians made it end like any other game after Emmanuel Clase walked the tightrope in a Cleveland win. 

It was also a win the Guardians needed badly.

Rafael Devers and the Giants were no match for 'Guards Ball'

After being swept by the Mariners in the first part of their three-city road trip, the Guardians were in the center of the baseball universe on Tuesday thanks to Devers’ Giants debut. And Devers made the most of that early when he roped an RBI double against Slade Cecconi in his second at-bat. 

But that was the last time the Giants would have anything to celebrate thanks to a lights out performance by Cleveland’s bullpen and one big swing from Gabriel Arias. 

Not much went right for the Guardians in their series against the Mariners, but seemingly every part of their roster did its job on Tuesday. 

With the win, the Guardians moved up to second place in the American League Central thanks to the Twins’ 6-5 loss. The Twins have now lost five games in a row. 

Tuesday also marked a rare occasion where the Guardians defeated a team that had a record above .500. It was about as big of a win you can have in June. 

It also showcased the value of having a player like Steven Kwan, as he came up clutch in the field twice. The first instance came in the eighth inning when he threw out Casey Schmidt at second base, and the second instance came an inning later when he uncorked a laser to the plate to keep the tying run at third. 

Devers heading out West impacted plenty of teams in MLB, the Guardians being one of them. But, at the end of the day, it’s a case of Cleveland losing the battle (having to face Devers right after the trade) but winning the war (he’s out of the American League). 

The Guardians also battled back on Tuesday in a way that wasn’t there over the weekend against Seattle. In that series, the game seemed to be over whenever the Mariners took the lead (and, in the case of Saturday’s game), it was over when Seattle took the lead. On Tuesday, they punched back twice to tie the game before taking the lead on Arias’ home run.

That’s a great sign.

The Guardians still have some kinks to work through on the roster, but, as Tuesday reminded us, they're tough to beat when they're at their best.