Cleveland Guardians’ Jose Ramírez is greeted in the dugout after a solo home run by Detroit Tigers pitcher Bryan Sammons during the third inning of a baseball game, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

DETROIT — José Ramírez hit two home runs to give him 26 this season and had an RBI double to provide ample offense for the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians in an 8-4 win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.

“He continues to amaze me every night,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said.

Ramírez’s second home run was his 242nd of his career, which tied him with Albert Belle for second most in Cleveland history behind Jim Thome with 337. He has 25 multi-homer games to his name, one fewer than Thome and Belle.

“The most important part is trying to win,” Ramírez said.

Tanner Bibee Bibee (9-4) held the Tigers scoreless until they opened the seventh inning with three straight hits, including Dillon Dingler’s RBI double in his major league debut. It was a chase for Bibee, who surrendered two runs on seven hits in six-plus innings.

All-Star Josh Naylor returned to the lineup after sitting out the previous three games and scored when his brother Bo hit a home run in the sixth inning to give Cleveland a 7-0 lead.

The Guardians made a move just before the trade deadline by acquiring outfielder Lane Thomas from Washington.

“One of our goals before the deadline was to find a way to lengthen the lineup and add some offensive power,” said Chris Antonetti, Guardians president of baseball operations.

Cleveland, whose winning percentage is second only to Philadelphia’s, is looking for starting pitchers.

Detroit is expected to sell at least one player to bolster a contender’s rotation.

Right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty was originally scheduled to play the first game of the series against the Guardians, but was canceled more than four hours before first pitch.

“This time of year is pretty stressful and putting him on the mound tonight felt like the wrong thing to do for him and for us,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said.

Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris must also decide whether it makes sense to trade All-Star Tarik Skubal, who has a 12-3 record with a 2.35 ERA.

Trading the 28-year-old Flaherty, who has a one-year, $14 million contract and could become a free agent, to a fourth-place team still trying to rebuild seems like a logical move.

“He’s a very good pitcher, I know that, and it’s never fun to face him,” Antonetti said. “I’m sure if Scott decides it’s the right thing for the Tigers to do, he’ll get a great return.”

Flaherty is 7-5 in 18 starts with a 2.95 ERA. Since his major league debut with St. Louis in 2017, he is 49-39 with a 3.64 ERA.

He was transferred from St. Louis to Baltimore almost a year ago and is preparing to leave again.

“Now that I’ve dealt with it last year, it’s easier,” he said. “You just go out there and try to make pitches and execute in the game. That’s all you can do. Everything else is just part of the game. You start to realize that as you get into it.”

Detroit took several measures before the game, including placing shortstop Javier Báez on the emergency medical list so he could deal with family matters.

Beau Brieske (1-2) got only two outs and gave up three runs and five hits in the first inning.

Detroit signed Bryan Sammons from Triple-A Toledo, and the 29-year-old left-handed pitcher allowed five runs and four hits in 7 1/3 innings in his major league debut.

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Cleveland RHP Gavin Williams (0-3, 4.50) is expected to pitch today.