Carlos Santana slugged his sixth career grand slam and the Cleveland Guardians beat Cincinnati 11-2 on Wednesday, snapping the Reds’ five-game win streak and denying manager Terry Francona a season sweep of his former team.
Santana’s third-inning slam came on the 15th anniversary of his major league debut. It was his eighth homer this season and made it 5-0, helping Cleveland salvage the finale of this three-game series. Francona’s Reds swept the Guardians in three games at Cincinnati last month.
The Guardians had five straight hits to open a four-run sixth for a nine-run lead, including a three-run homer by Lane Thomas. Cleveland’s 11 runs were a season high.
Thomas’ homer was his first this season after returning from the injured list this week. He had three hits, drove in three runs and scored twice.
José Ramírez hit an RBI double to extend his career-long on-base streak to 37 games, the longest active streak in the majors. He has a hit in 11 straight games.
Logan Allen (4-4) went six innings and gave up solo homers to Elly De La Cruz and TJ Friedl. He struck out six.
