Where Will The Innings Come From For Guardians’ Rotation?

With spring training underway and exhibition games starting this Saturday, we have spent a lot of time discussing the Cleveland Guardians.

Today, we look at the pitching staff, primarily the starting rotation. The bullpen was outstanding last season and remember that might be the most volatile spot of any team, but Cleveland seems to have built up some depth if the primary late inning relievers (Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis, and Cade Smith) take a step back.

And one of them probably will.

That’s where names like Andrew Walters, Erik Sabrowski, who we saw at the end of the season in ’24, and veterans Paul Sewald and newly signed Jakob Junis figure in.

The question is where will the innings come at the beginning of games? Do the Guardians have enough depth among the starters?

Tanner Bibee is the clear ace right now. He’s made 56 starts over the past two seasons and threw 173 regular season innings in 2024. But he’s the only hurler with anything close to a track record.

Luis Ortiz was acquired from the Pirates this winter, and he should have a spot in the rotation. However, his high in innings pitched was last season and he still only reached 135 frames. He had a 3.22 ERA in his 15 starts in ’24, but has still started only 34 big league games.

Gavin Williams in the wild card. Almost everyone agrees he should be a top of the rotation starter, but last year missed the beginning of the year with an elbow issue and finished with a 4.86 ERA in his 16 starts. Overall, he’s made only just 32 big league starts and has fanned 160 in 158 innings.

But what Williams will Steven Vogt get this year? A microcosm of Williams’ season was at the beginning of September. On September 2nd, he threw seven one-hit innings against the Royals. His next start? Couldn’t get out of the first inning against the Dodgers.

Ben Lively made 29 starts last year with a 3.81 ERA, pitching 151 innings. That total almost doubles the next most innings he pitched in the big leagues. Other pitchers have figured it out later in their career, would we bet on Lively being one of those guys? Not sure we can say that.

The questions continue for the rest of the candidates.

Can Triston McKenzie find the strike zone? He walked 49 hitters in 75 innings last season, after pitching just 16 innings the year before. His control was worse at AAA, where he issued 33 free passes in 53 frames. Tough to count on him to make 25-30 starts.

Logan Allen was solid as a rookie (3.81 ERA), but last year allowed 113 hits and 41 bases on balls in 117 innings, compiling a 5.73 ERA. Which Allen pitches this season?

Slade Cecconi came over from Arizona in the Josh Naylor deal, and we have read a lot about how good his stuff is. So far, it hasn’t translated to success because he had a 6.66 ERA in 77 innings a year ago.

Then you have the rookies. Joey Cantillo has less than 40 big league innings and had problems with control (15 walks) and giving up home runs (6). He has a good arm but is far from being someone to count on.

Another lefty, Doug Nikhazy is a long shot to break camp with the team but could be an option later in the season.

Yes, reinforcements will come in the middle of the season with Shane Bieber due back from elbow surgery and it appears John Means will be inked to a deal soon, and he is in the same boat as Bieber.

Both are solid pitchers if healthy, especially Bieber, who of course has won a Cy Young Award.

But what happens until they are ready? There are several veterans who can soak up innings still out there on the market and we bet they could be had on one-year deals.

Perhaps Vogt and the brass are going to lean heavily on the bullpen until the reinforcements are ready. Don’t know if that strategy will work again.

Guardians Still In This Series, But Need A Win Tonight

Former Browns’ coach Marty Schottenheimer used to say no game was “must win” unless if you lose you are eliminated from playoff consideration. On that basis, today’s game three of the American League Championship Series isn’t that, but it’s pretty darn close.

The Guardians are down two games to none in the series, but it’s a best-of-seven series, so they aren’t dead yet, but you can get out the shovels if they can’t win tonight at home.

The big weaknesses that plagued the regular season, starting pitching and the offensive are again the culprits in dropping the first two games of the series.

In the post-season, the Guardians are 3-0 when they scored four runs or more and 0-4 when they tally three runs or less. They’ve put up just five runs in the first two games of the ALCS.

As for the starters, we knew Steven Vogt would rely heavily on the bullpen throughout the playoffs, but in game one, Alex Cobb pitched just 2.2 innings and Tanner Bibee went just 1.1 in the second game. That has caused the skipper to use guys in higher leverage situations than he wanted too.

That has caused some hiccups. Rookie Joey Cantillo came in game one and threw four wild pitches. For those questioning Vogt for going to Cantillo that early (and we were one of those people) understand he likely would have had to bring Cantillo in at some point. He used his best four relievers to the max in the last two games of the Tigers’ series, and no doubt they needed an extra day off.

And in game two, the bullpen was forced to cover 6.2 frames, and it could’ve been 7.2 if the Guards had taken the lead. He correctly used Cade Smith with the bases loaded trailing by two in the second to get out of the jam, which he did allowing just one more run to score.

The point is if either starter could get through four innings, it’s a much better situation for the bullpen. It’s that simple.

As for the offense, Cleveland has just three players with more than one hit in the two games: Brayan Rocchio, who continues to have a tremendous playoff, Steven Kwan, and Josh Naylor. New York has five.

The Yankees have seven extra base hits, the Guardians have just two, the home runs by Rocchio and Jose Ramirez. Cleveland hitters have struck out 21 times, New York hitters just 16.

The Guardians have problems in right field, where Jhonkensy Noel and Will Brennan have combined to go 2 for 25 with one walk in the seven games. And at catcher, Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges have combined to go 0 for 23.

We know Bo Naylor is struggling but pinch hitting for him early in a game just means more at bats for Hedges, who is on the roster for defense and leadership, but is a terrible hitter.

It’s not that the offense hasn’t had opportunities, they were 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on in game two. Someone, anyone, needs to come through with a big hit.

Let’s be clear. Right now, this series is not over. A win in game three put the Guardians right back in it. There is pressure on Matthew Boyd to provide some innings and with four days off, no doubt, Emmanuel Clase is prepared to get Vogt at least five outs.

The Guards need a spark offensively. Kwan and Rocchio have gotten on base. They need someone to step up and drive them in.

A 1-0 Lead And More Thoughts On The Guardians/Tigers Series

We were concerned about the Cleveland Guardians’ offense coming into the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, but they showed us at least in the first inning yesterday.

The first five Guards reached base and all scored as a result of an error, Josh Naylor’s single and Lane Thomas’ three run homer. A 5-0 lead in the first? How sweet was that.

We felt going into the series that Steven Vogt might only need four innings out of his starters, and indeed, Tanner Bibee gave him 4-2/3 frames before giving up a single to Parker Meadows with two out, and the skipper went to the bullpen.

And at least in game one, the relievers were as dominant as they were in the regular season, covering 4.1 innings without allowing a hit.

Cade Smith looked like he did in his big-league debut, striking out all four hitters he faced and Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis, and of course, Emmanuel Clase each threw an inning to give the Guardians a 1-0 lead in the series.

Another thought we had about this series is it reminds us of when the Indians took on Boston in the late 90’s, and the Red Sox’ pitching staff was led by Pedro Martinez. Martinez would pitch twice in the series, and you had the feeling Cleveland had to win any game the Hall of Famer would pitch.

Of course, we are referring to the likely Cy Young Award winner this year in the AL, Tarik Skubal. The left-hander will pitch in game two and game five if the series goes on that long.

Skubal isn’t quite Martinez, but he did go 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 192 frames. He hasn’t allowed more than a run in a start since September 6th against Oakland when he allowed two runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings.

Cleveland hitters will have their work carved out for them tomorrow at Progressive Field, particularly if the sun is shining and the late afternoon shadows will descend on the diamond.

The announcement of the roster for this series also caused some eyebrow raising. Although it wasn’t a surprise Nick Sandlin was left off the roster because of his propensity to give up home runs, and Ben Lively didn’t make it because the Guards only need three starters, it is a bit of shock that Alex Cobb will start game three.

Cobb hasn’t pitched in a game since September 1st due to fingernail and blister issues, and if Cleveland loses game two, you are giving him the ball in a pivotal game. Again, we know the Guardians only need three or four innings from a starter, and they will have Gavin Williams and/or Joey Cantillo to back him up, but it’s a bit head scratching.

We have always thought the even numbered games in a short series were most important until you get to the last contest, and tomorrow’s game is no different. If the Guardians can beat Skubal, they have command of the series. We aren’t saying it is won because we remember what happened in 2017.

The pressure will be on starter Matthew Boyd, a former Tiger, to keep the Detroit offense in check and either give the Guardians’ bats a chance to scrape out a run or two or get Skubal out of the game early by making him throw a lot of pitches.

With the off day again on Tuesday, no doubt Vogt will go to his bullpen early again.

All yesterday’s win means is the Guardians will not get swept and there will be two games in Detroit. We would be surprised if the Cleveland bats had another outburst like in game one.

Guardians And Their Incredible Bullpen Head To October

As the Beatles once said, it was a “Long and Winding Road” for the Cleveland Guardians in 2024. They rolled to a 38-19 start through the end of May, and looked to be on a path to 100+ victories.

But starting in June, the offense sputtered and over the next three months, Steven Vogt’s squad went 39-40 in the three summer months, through August. And then when the Kansas City Royals were breathing down their backs, they turned it on going 13-7 to date in September.

In the past few years, the American League Central Division was baseball’s poor stepchild, the weakest division in the sport. However, this season, it looks like three teams will make the post-season party, and in the next few days, the Guards will clinch a bye right to the best-of-five Division Series, where they will have home field advantage.

The offense is too dependent on Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, and prior to the All-Star break, Steven Kwan, although if Kyle Manzardo can maintain what he is doing through the playoffs, it would go a long way.

But the Guardians have depended on their bullpen all year long, led by the sports’ best closer in Emmanuel Clase, a Cy Young Award candidate. He likely will not win, but he probably will finish second.

When Cleveland won the division title in 2022, Clase was incredible, going 3-4 with 42 saves and a 1.36 ERA, allowing just 43 hits in 72.2 innings.

He’s been better this year, saving 46 games with a 0.63 ERA, allowing just 37 hits in 71.1 innings.

And he’s backed by a pair of relievers having equally dominant years in rookie Cade Smith (1.96 ERA, 100 strikeouts in 73.1 IP) and Hunter Gaddis (1.53 ERA, 39 hits allowed in 70.2 IP).

Fox analyst John Smoltz said a few months ago that when you play the Guardians, you are essentially playing a five inning game. That’s how good those relievers have been.

What’s even more incredible is that in the past few weeks, we’ve seen even more dominance, as Tim Herrin (1.90 ERA, 63 Ks in 61.1 IP) and now recently called up Andrew Walters, drafted just last year, who has provided five appearances and has yet to allow a hit.

Just this week, the Guardians have also had great outings from Eli Morgan in the extra inning win over Minnesota, and Erik Sabrowski, called up at the end of August and saved Friday’s win over St. Louis with 2.1 scoreless innings.

Could Vogt need just four innings from a starting pitcher in the playoffs? That will be interesting to watch. Remember, Joe Torre and Terry Francona revolutionized relief pitching usage in the post-season by asking their primary relievers to get one more out, go 1.1 IP instead of just three outs.

The emergence of Herrin and Walters could really shorten the game for Cleveland.

We feared all season the lack of innings provided by the starting rotation this season would take a toll on the relief corps by August and September. So far, the bullpen might be even better down the stretch because of Herrin, the additions of Walters and Sabrowski, and the way Morgan has pitched.

He had problems with the gopher ball before this season, allowing 19 dingers over the past two season, but this year, he’s taken care of that issue to date, giving up just two long balls.

This is a contrast from Nick Sandlin, who has allowed 12 homers this year and 24 over the past two campaigns. Could he lose his spot on the playoff roster because of it?

Congratulations to the Central Division champs! Since the wild card era started in 1995, they’ve won 12 division titles, an incredible run.

One of these years, they are going to cash in with a World Series win. Could the bullpen make that year this year?

Counting Down The Magic Numbers And What About Cobb?

September baseball is so cool when the team you follow is a contender. Scoreboard watching. Counting down the magic number. It’s all part of following baseball at a time when football is starting to consume the public.

Especially here in northeast Ohio.

With the new playoff set up in baseball, there are several magic numbers to watch. First and foremost, most people look at winning the division, because that’s what fans have been trained to do.

Currently that number is 12. When the two teams behind you play each other, one wants one team to win two out of three, the worst-case scenario is for one team to sweep. But last weekend the Royals swept the Twins, meaning Kansas City picked up ground when the Guardians lost to two of three to the Dodgers.

With Cleveland now holding a share of the best record in the American League, we are sure the Guardians would like to finish with one of the two best records in the league, thus being able to advance right to the Division Series, which is best-of-five, with the Guards have the home field advantage.

Right now, Houston is in first place in the West, and Cleveland is 5.5 games ahead of them. This means the magic number to bypass the Wild Card Series, best-of-three, is 13, with the Astros finishing the regular season with three games at Progressive Field.

And of course, there is another magic number associated with just getting into the post-season “tournament”, meaning the Guardians would be no worse than the sixth seed in the AL, currently held by the Twins, who hold a three-game lead over Detroit and four over Seattle and Boston.

That number would be 8, since Cleveland took the season series from Detroit, 7-6.

The penultimate trip of the regular season was a success if only because the Guardians went into KC, their closest rivals, and took two of three. They salvaged one game in Los Angeles, and then did what had to be done in Chicago against the team that seems in line to shatter the record for losing, which was symbolic for the expansion New York Mets, who famously went 40-120.

Now, there is only one trip left, a three-game trek to St. Louis next weekend. Otherwise, Steven Vogt’s squad spends the rest of their slate at home, but they don’t get any days off until they return from the trip.

That means the pitching staff gets no rest for another week and a half. Because Gavin Williams couldn’t get out of the first last Saturday and Ben Lively took a line drive off the thigh and pitched just two innings Tuesday, and yesterday, Matthew Boyd couldn’t get through the 5th, so the bullpen has been taxed. Again.

And add to that, Alex Cobb’s problems. Yes, he’s pitched well in his last two starts, but he’s also been out with a cracked fingernail and a blister. Can he make some starts on turn in the last two and a half weeks?

We are sure the management would feel better about him in the post-season if he could do just that.

We didn’t anticipate conversations about the playoffs before this season started, but it is certainly fun to have them. Time to enjoy the games AND the scoreboard watching.

Win Vs. KC May Have Turned It All Around For Guardians

It is very difficult to come from way behind in sports. How many times have you seen a team come from say, 20 points down in the second half of a game, trimming the lead to say, three or four points, only to fall back and wind up losing by double digits.

The same can be true chasing a team in the standings. In the past week, we have kind of seen just that with the Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals.

On June 25th, the Guardians were in first place in the AL Central with a 51-26 record, leading Minnesota by nine games and the Royals by 10, as KC sat with a 43-38 mark.

You can see by the records that the teams had played about half of their season’s schedule.

But last week, the Royals finally tracked the Guardians down, winning the first three games of a four-game series in Cleveland. The two teams were tied in the standings, but because Kansas City won the season series, it meant technically, KC was in first place.

In the fourth game of the set, the Guards looked like a weary squad and trailed after six innings, 5-2. It seemed to be the equivalent of the 1978 Boston Massacre, when the Red Sox, who had a double digit lead earlier in the season, were famously swept at home by the Yankees.

Eventually, the two teams had to play a 163rd game to decide the American League East.

But we digress. In the bottom of the 7th, Cleveland rallied for four runs to take a 6-5 lead, added another run in the 8th, and when Emmanuel Clase closed out the Guardians’ victory, the series ended with a one game lead for Steven Vogt’s group.

Since then, Kansas City has lost an additional six consecutive contests, while Cleveland has won five out of six and taken a 4.5 game advantage over the Twins and 5.5 over the Royals.

Yes, the Royals lost Vinnie Pasquantino, their second or third best hitter, having driven in 97 runs in 2024, and that has really hurt their offense. They haven’t scored more than three runs since he went down.

That seventh inning at Progressive Field seems to have shifted the momentum for now in the division title race. Cleveland didn’t let Kansas City pass them, and the Royals seem to have expended a lot of energy in tracking the Guardians down.

Meanwhile, the Guardians seem to have their starting rotation pitching as well as it has all season long, although we all know that could change at the drop of a hat. Although we were skeptical of the acquisitions of Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb by the front office, they seem to have stabilized the starting staff.

Boyd has a 2.38 ERA over five starts, while Cobb, who had a perfect game through six innings on Sunday, has a 2.76 ERA.

Overall, the rotation is giving Vogt at six innings in four straight starts, allowing the highly taxed bullpen to get some valuable rest.

Last week, when the Guards were struggling, we said we hoped for a big event, a big home run, a walk-off win, to get this team going in the right direction again.

That seventh inning in the last game of the Royals series in Cleveland may have been that shot in the arm.

It’s Crunch Time For The Guardians.

Here we go. The Cleveland Guardians have a single game lead in the AL Central with 30 games to play and we have a good ol’ fashioned race for the division title.

It started yesterday with a doubleheader sweep by the Royals, the first two of seven games between Kansas City and Cleveland over a ten-day stretch. And there is a quartet of games at Progressive Field against the Twins September 16th through the 19th.

Pennant race baseball is a lot of fun even though Cleveland fans haven’t experienced a lot of it since the franchise returned to prominence in 1994.

Since the three divisional set up, when Cleveland has won the division, they did it pretty comfortably: 30 game margin in 1995, 14.5 in ’96, 6 games in ’97, 9 in ’98, 21.5 in ’99, 6 games in 2001, 8 in 2007, 8 in 2016, 17 in ’17, 13 in ’19, and their last division title was won by 11 games in 2022.

Now this year, it may wind up the same, with the Guardians coasting into the title by going on a hot streak.

The most fun last month of the season might have been 2013, Terry Francona’s first year as Indians’ skipper. On Labor Day, Cleveland was in second place in the Central, 8.5 behind the first place Tigers. In terms of the wild card, and there were only two that year, the Tribe was 3.5 behind the Rays, who at the time held the last playoff spot.

By September 15th, they had trimmed that margin to just a half game and wound up hosting the Wild Card Game against Tampa by winning their last 11 games to cap off a 21-6 month.

By the way, they lost that one game playoff and the Rays’ starting pitcher was current Guardian Alex Cobb.

While it is likely (not guaranteed) that all three teams, the Guardians, Royals, and Twins will make the playoffs, winning the division takes added importance this season.

Right now, Cleveland has a five-game edge over AL West leading Houston, and the division winners with the two best records at the end of the season advance right to the Division Series. Keep in mind, the Astros and Guardians finish the regular season with a three-game set at Progressive Field.

After the second set of games against the Royals, the last three being in KC, the Guardians then have to travel to the west coast to take on the Dodgers, before heading to Chicago for a series with the Sox, now of course managed by former Cleveland standout, Grady Sizemore.

At the conclusion of that excursion pretty much ends the road season for Steven Vogt’s crew, with only a three-game set in St. Louis remaining away from the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

As for the Royals, they have just 13 home games left and following these games in Cleveland, they head to Houston for four there. They also have road series at Yankee Stadium and Atlanta, the latter to finish the season.

The Twins play 19 more at Target Field and have 14 road contests. They are currently playing the Braves, and have three more in Kansas City while the Guards are in LA.

They end the year against the Orioles, who could also be fighting for playoff seeding.

While it may not be enjoyable to watch, especially if the Guardians’ hitting is struggling, meaningful September (and late August) baseball is supposed to be fun. Besides the Cleveland game, you also have the scoreboard watching.

Let’s hope there is more hope at the end of this stretch and not more questions.

Don’t Look Now, But Playoffs Aren’t A Sure Thing For Guardians

For the first two months of this baseball season, the Cleveland Guardians were on a magic carpet. After beating Washington 7-1 on May 31st, they were 38-19 and had a four-game lead in the AL Central Division.

Since that victory, the Guards are 36-36. Notice the number of games played in each segment we’ve talked about. They have been a “meh” team longer than they were great.

We remember in 1984 after the Detroit Tigers got off to a 35-5 start, someone asked manager Sparky Anderson about Toronto, who the interviewer told Anderson had the same record as Detroit since a specific date.

Anderson snapped back and told the media person something to the effect that it was too bad the season didn’t begin on the later date.

So, while the Guardians have been struggling for two and a half months, they’ve earned their spot on top of the division because of the fast start.

But that only lasts so long.

Their division lead is down to just two games over the Royals and Twins, but what is more disturbing is a playoff spot isn’t even guaranteed. Their lead over Boston, the first team out if you will is .5 games, and really is 7.5 because the Guards won the season series.

However, if you don’t get things straightened out soon, even that lead could dwindle. And there is still plenty of baseball to be played.

We have talked about the offense lately, and since the All-Star break, a period of 34 games, the offense has scored three runs or less 19 times! And in the last 17 games, dating back to the doubleheader loss to Arizona on August 7th, they have scored four or more runs in just five games.

One huge problem has been the production of two of the team’s three best offensive players since the break.

Jose Ramirez has been, well Jose Ramirez, hitting .273 with 9 homers in that time, but prior to last night, he was in a 1 for 20 slide over the last week, and during the past 14 days, he’s 9 for 42.

Josh Naylor is batting .214 with a 703 OPS after the break. Before last night’s 13-5 win over Texas, he was in a 1 for 22 slump, and 7 for 44 over the past two weeks.

As for Kwan, who batted .352 heading into the Midsummer Classic, he’s batted just .206 with a 603 OPS since. And he’s 3 for 24 over the past week, and 7 for 47 over the past 14 days.

That means over the last seven days, that trio, without a doubt the Guardians’ best hitters, have gone 4 for 46. And with the rest of the lineup not looking like the 1999 Indians, who scored over 1000 runs, it’s no wonder the Guardians cannot score runs.

Some Guardians’ broadcasters and supporters will point out that some other good teams have struggled lately. While that’s true, over the last 50 games, Cleveland’s record is worse than all of the contenders, and actually ranks with teams like the Angels, Nationals, and Rockies.

Those are teams you shouldn’t want to be associated with.

There are still 33 games to be played, and who knows, maybe one solid game, a walkoff win, Ramirez and Naylor get hot, Kwan has a four hit night, something turns it around for the Guardians and they go on a run.

But it’s fair to be concerned. We are sure Steven Vogt and the front office are, even if they don’t show it publicly. It would be a shame if this season, which started out as so much fun, didn’t wind up with baseball in October.

Anatomy Of Bullpen Usage For The Guardians

When the Cleveland Guardians recent five-game winning streak ended on August 3rd with a 7-4 loss to the Orioles, there were quite a few comments on social media (yes, we know) saying Steven Vogt and his staff didn’t really try to win that game.

That’s because when rookie Joey Cantillo left the game after four innings, trailing 3-2, Vogt went with Pedro Avila to pitch 1.2 innings, and Nick Sandlin for a third of an inning to get the Guardians through six innings.

Still losing at that point, Xzavion Curry came on and after a scoreless seventh, he gave up four runs in the eighth and the game was out of reach.

The social media managers couldn’t fathom why Vogt didn’t use one of his better relievers to keep the score at a one-run deficit.

First of all, we are sure when Vogt went to Curry for the 7th, he wanted him to keep the game right there at 3-2. We are doubly sure Curry did not want to give up runs either because his spot on the roster was tenuous at best.

He’s since been DFA’d and picked up by the Miami Marlins.

But to get to the 7th inning on August 3rd, we need to go back to the previous Sunday, when Vogt used his best relievers to score a series win in Philadelphia, a game which coincidentally, Cantillo also started. It was his first big league start.

Cantillo went 3.1 innings and with Kyle Schwarber, who had already hit two bombs off the rookie, coming up, Vogt went to Cade Smith, who struck him out.

That began a busy week for the bullpen. In the subsequent game, Tanner Bibee went six, and with a 7-0 lead, the skipper used Pedro Avila for 1.1, Scott Barlow for 2/3, and Hunter Gaddis to finish it off.

The only eyebrow raiser there was using Gaddis with a then 8-2 lead.

The following day, Gavin Williams shut out Detroit for five, but used 90 pitches in doing so, meaning the ‘pen had to cover four innings. Tim Herrin, Sandlin, Cade Smith, and Emmanuel Clase finished off the game, which until Cleveland scored in the 8th and 9th, was a 2-0 affair.

Following a day off, Cleveland beat Baltimore 10-3, but it was a 5-2 contest heading into the bottom of the 7th. Ben Lively gave the team six frames, so Vogt used Smith, Herrin, and Sandlin to finish.

The next night, Cleveland won 8-4, but it was 2-1 heading into the 5th, and the manager, clearly not totally confident in Carlos Carrasco, pulled him after 4.1, so again Smith was used for 1.2 IP, followed by Barlow (.1), Avila (.2), Gaddis and Clase (each an inning).

That game was on a Friday night, meaning in a six-game span, Smith pitched four times totaling 4.1 innings, while Barlow, Sandlin, Gaddis, Herrin, and Clase were all used three times.

The Guardians’ starters have had trouble eating innings all season long, and if the team is going to get where it wants to go this season, it is incumbent on Vogt and Carl Willis to take care of the relief corps, the strength of the team.

That means, sometimes, when the Guards are trailing the manager has to have “live to see another day” attitude. That means pitching Avila, Eli Morgan, and perhaps Peter Strzelecki in higher leverage situations.

It’s also those pitchers’ opportunity to earn the skipper’s trust. Smith began the year pitching in lower leverage situations, for example.

It does not mean the manager isn’t trying to win, but these guys aren’t Strat-O-Matic cards, you can’t run them out there every day. There will be a time to do just that. It’s called the playoffs.

Hopefully, all of these relievers will still have something in the tank when October comes around.

Guardians Struggles Are On Both Pitching And Offense

The Cleveland Guardians are in a mid-season malaise. Since June 25th, a period of 40 games, Steven Vogt’s crew has gone 17-23. And note that many games is a quarter of the season, so not really a small sample size.

Most teams go through a stretch like this during a season, so it is not a sign that Cleveland isn’t a good team, after all they still have the third best record in the American League, just a game behind the Orioles.

But the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals have gotten hot, trimming what was a nine game lead on that date (June 25th) to 2-1/2 games. Based on the recent past, it would have been crazy to think the Central Division would have three of the five best records in the AL, but here we are.

The Guards put together a five-game winning streak a little over a week ago, beating Philadelphia to end that series, taking two from the Tigers, and then winning the first two vs. Baltimore (yes, the team with the best record). Since then, they’ve lost seven of their last eight.

When your offense and pitching are both failing, you end up with a long losing streak.

Right now, the Guardians are having issues scoring runs. In the last four losses, they haven’t put up more than three runs a game. And it’s tough to win that way.

But the starting pitching woes, which isn’t a recent problem, has reared its ugly head once again. In the seven-game streak, the most innings pitched by a Cleveland starter was the 5.2 hurled by rookie Joey Cantillo.

Here are the innings pitched by starters over these seven games: 4, 4, 5, 5, 4.1, 5.2, 4.2. And for all the people out there who think Vogt is giving away games, you cannot have Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Emmanuel Clase, and the other primary bullpen pitchers covering five innings every game.

Another annoying habit is the lack of shutdown innings from the pitching staff. Every team the Guardians scrape up some offense and get a lead, the pitchers give it right back, and that goes for starters and relievers. Even Smith has done it.

At the trade deadline, although there weren’t many decent starters moved, we felt it was curious to have the Guards’ brass cast their lot with two pitchers who haven’t thrown a big-league inning this year in Alex Cobb and Matthew Boyd.

It’s now the 11th of August, and those two moves have netted the Guardians the 4.2 innings thrown by Cobb Friday night.

Meanwhile, Paul Blackburn, who the Mets traded for from Oakland at the deadline has given them two starts of six innings.

Perhaps Cobb and Boyd are mainstays during the last six weeks of the season for Cleveland, but so far, they haven’t cured the biggest problem the Guardians have had in 2024.

And when your rotation is shorthanded, and the reliable hurlers don’t succeed, you have a long losing streak. Cleveland’s rotation was built around Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, and Ben Lively. Bibee missed a start with shoulder inflammation, and Williams and Lively didn’t pitch well.

What Cleveland needs, despite the hitting issues, is a starting pitcher who will go out and put up zeros. Williams did that for the most part last night. Get a well-pitched game, a game where the pitching staff puts up a “0” after the Guardians score.

It isn’t time to panic, but it is time to turn things around. It’s a big advantage to have one of the two best division winning records once the season ends.