Jo Adell’s night for the Guardians included a 455-foot homer, 6 RBIs, then an early exit

CLEVELAND (AP) — Jo Adell had a career night and showed the power that made the Cleveland Guardians acquire him at the trade deadline.

However, in a season in which every good thing that happens to the Guardians ends up being followed by a setback, Adell’s night ended on a down note Tuesday.

Adell left before the eighth inning of the Guardians’ 8-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants due to a bruised left knee. He fouled a pitch off his left kneecap during the first inning before hitting a 455-foot, three-run homer three pitches later.

Adell was receiving treatment after the game and wasn’t available for comment after setting a career high with six RBIs and the longest homer of his seven-year career. He will continue to be evaluated.

“It seems like every time we go out and check on somebody, they do something pretty special,” manager Stephen Vogt said after the Guardians’ win. “But Jo obviously fouled that ball off his knee pretty hard. That’s why we took him out of the game. He was feeling some pretty good pain as the game went on.”

Adell had his eighth three-hit game, but his first for the Guardians. He came into the game batting .167 (7 for 42) since being acquired by the Guardians at the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

“Adell was the issue, for sure, tonight. Adell was the problem — and other guys hit us too,” Giants manager Tony Vitello said.

After Steven Kwan and José Ramírez got on base, Adell connected on an elevated changeup from Giants starter Carson Whisenhunt on a 2-2 count and the seventh pitch of the at-bat, depositing it five rows from the top of the bleachers in left field to give the Guardians a 3-0 lead.

Adell’s blast surpassed the 454-foot homer he hit in Kansas City last year while with the Los Angeles Angels for the longest of his career.

It also was the longest homer at Progressive Field since Kansas City’s Salvador Perez had a 457-foot shot in 2024. The last Cleveland player to go at least 455 feet was Bradley Zimmer (465 feet) in 2021 against Texas.

Adell also had a two-run single in the second and an RBI base hit in the fourth. He was the sixth player in the majors this season with at least six RBIs in the first four innings of a game, but the first Cleveland player since Ramírez in 2019.

“We haven’t seen very many balls fly that far to left field since I’ve been here, and his power’s real. But my favorite at-bat was the second one, two outs, second and third, right back up the middle for a two-run single,” Vogt said.

Adell’s injury is the latest in what has been a rough couple of days for the Guardians. Outfielder Chase DeLauter missed Tuesday’s game due to mild left hamstring tightness after playing only two innings during Sunday’s 5-0 loss to San Diego.

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Cleveland (61-65) has gone 10-19 since the All-Star break and is one game behind Texas for the last wild-card spot in the American League.

“We’re pretty banged up on the position player side. So we got a lot of guys we’re monitoring,” Vogt said.

On June 13, the Guardians lost three players during the span of five innings against Detroit. Ramírez fractured the left hamate bone during an at-bat and missed more than five weeks; DeLauter bruised his right rib cage after colliding with the outfield wall and was sidelined for two weeks. Angel Martinez was out for six weeks after fouling a pitch off his left foot.

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