When the Cleveland Guardians came home after their season opening nine game trip, it seemed like the team was running in quicksand a bit.
The defense was shaky, the offense only had four players (Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez, Carlos Santana, and Kyle Manzardo) hitting, and the pitching, usually the hallmark of any Cleveland team was not very good.
Then they came back to Progressive Field, and the pitching found itself, allowing only 10 runs in a six-game span, although to be fair, the horrible Chicago White Sox were the first three games, and they only tallied three times in the trio of games.
This is not to say everything is fine and there are no worries, but the Guardians sit at 8-7 now after 15 games, sitting a game behind Detroit in the AL Central standings.
The starting pitching was much better, but the number of innings the rotation is providing is a problem. The farthest any starter went on the homestand was the six innings provided by Ben Lively on Sunday. Luis Ortiz went 5.2 on Saturday and was outstanding, striking out 10 Kansas City hitters.
The biggest issue is that the starters are throwing a lot of pitches to get through five innings. Friday night, Tanner Bibee held the Royals scoreless for 4.2 frames but had to come out after tossing almost 100 pitches.
The same was true with Gavin Williams last start. The opposition isn’t scoring, but the pitchers aren’t being economical about it.
Bibee has walked seven in 14.1 innings this year. Williams has six in 13 frames, and Logan Allen seven in 10 innings.
Of course, this puts an enormous load on the bullpen. Paul Sewald, Jakob Junis, and Cade Smith have already been in 8 of Cleveland’s 15 games to date, and Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis, and Tim Herrin have been in seven. We know the Guardians are very protective of these relievers, but they had to carry a huge load a year ago.
Something to keep an eye on as the season goes on.
We also think at times; Steven Vogt creates this issue. Allen was pulled after 83 pitches and two out in the fifth with a 3-1 lead. Yes, there were runners on second and third, but why not give the young pitcher a chance to get out of it?
The offense is still struggling, hitting just .222 as a team, but they received a boost this week from Angel Martinez, who was called up because Lane Thomas has a bruised wrist after getting hit by a pitch.
The switch-hitter went 5 for 10 in three starts, with a pair of doubles and three runs knocked in. Gabriel Arias had a solid week as well, getting 5 hits in 17 at-bats with a pair of home runs.
There are still too many players who are simply not contributing at the plate. Daniel Schneemann has started 2 for 22. Nolan Jones has drawn six walks, tied for third on the team, but is 5 for 35 with 16 Ks. Jhonkensy Noel is 6 for 32 and has only fanned six times but doesn’t have an extra base hit.
Still, Ramirez has not gotten hot, outside of his three dinger game against the Angels.
But the length of the lineup was a concern coming into the season, and it doesn’t look like it has gotten any longer. Cleveland still has a below average offense. The league is scoring 4.12 runs per game, the Guardians are at 3.93.
It’s a good sign the Guards have started out 7-2 vs. the Central, but they haven’t played Detroit or Minnesota. The Orioles should be a good test for the pitching over the next three days.
Hopefully, the starters can start going at least six innings on a regular basis.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 