CLEVELAND — No active player in baseball has hit more home runs against the Tigers than Jose Ramirez. Few have a better slash-line against them, either.

So, it wasn’t much of a shock that it was Ramirez who delivered the killing blow Monday night in the Central Division-leading Guardians' 2-1 win against the Tigers in the first of three games at Progressive Field.

Ramirez drove a 95-mph four-seam fastball off right-hander Jack Flaherty inside the foul pole in right field in the sixth inning, breaking a 1-1 tie.

It was his 29th homer against the Tigers and he came into the game slashing .300/.377/.570 with a .947 OPS against them.

It was the fourth straight loss for the Tigers.

Flaherty probably deserved a better fate. He hasn’t posted a win in seven starts as a Tiger despite leading the American League with 54 strikeouts and just four walks. He struck out six Monday and walked one.

He scattered six hits and kept the Tigers in position to win.

But it was another night of abject frustration for the offense. They had traffic on the bases in all but two innings. But Riley Greene’s feet were the only ones to touch home plate. They were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, leaving nine runners on base.

The two teams traded a run in the first inning before the two starting pitchers settled into dueling.

Greene jumped right-hander Triston McKenzie’s first pitch of the game, a 90-mph fastball, and sent it 424 feet to right-center field. His ninth home run of the season left his bat with an exit velocity of 110 mph.

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