Guardians ruin Francisco Lindor's Cleveland homecoming, trip Mets 3

CLEVELAND (AP) — Ben Lively had another solid start, David Fry drove in two early runs and the Cleveland Guardians won their fourth straight, 3-1 on Monday night over the New York Mets to ruin Francisco Lindor’s return.

The Guardians won for the seventh time in eight games. The AL Central leaders are beginning to show they’re more than an early season surprise.

“We’re kind of already to the point of past the start,” said the versatile Fry. “After the first week or two, the new season kind of wears off. We just have a really good mindset and everybody’s just having a lot of fun right now.”

Lindor, who spent six seasons with Cleveland, went 0 for 4 in his first game at Progressive Field since being traded to New York in 2021.

The four-time All-Star shortstop struck out, grounded out twice and flied out, dropping his average to .193.

Lively (3-2) allowed just one run — a homer — and six hits in 5 2/3 innings before first-year manager Stephen Vogt turned things over to his bullish bullpen.