News and Notes - Shutout Loss in Arlington

News and Notes for Thursday, May 15, 2024

CLE 0 - TEX 4

The Cleveland Guardians fell to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night.

Cleveland offense was very quiet to start the game. At the end of the 4th inning the only Guardians to get on base were José Ramírez with a walk in the 1st, Tyler Freeman with a 2 out single in the 3rd, and Will Brennan with a walk in the 4th.

The 6th inning showed life for the offense. Andrés Giménez had a long 1-out single to the left fielder. Anxious to get a stolen base, Giménez was in the process of running to 2nd which turned José’s single to center from runners at first and second to runners on the corners. Unfortunately nothing would come of the perfectly aggressive base running. Josh Naylor grounded into a double play to end the inning.

In the 7th inning the team continued to try and make something happen. Kyle Manzardo had his 4th major league hit - a 1-out single to center field. This single had a recorded exit velocity of 103.2 mph. As Manzardo grows more comfortable against major league pitching, a lot of his characteristic batting is coming to the surface.

Manzardo advanced to 2nd as Gabriel Arias struck out. Estevan Florial was hit by a pitch bringing runners to 1st and 2nd. Steven Vogt turned to Bo Naylor to pinch hit for Austin Hedges. Bo ended the inning on a fly out to 3rd base.

Andrés Giménez hit a 1-out single in the top of the 8th inning, continuing his offensive up swing. He would be stranded on base.

In the 9th inning the Guardians were still scoreless, with only 3 outs left to pull out a miracle to close the 4 run Texas lead. Leadoff hitter Will Brennan hit a 0-2 single pop up that fell just out of reach of the 3rd baseman. Kyle Manzardo went down swinging after a questionable strike 2 call from the home plate umpire. Gabriel Arias’ fate was not much different. He was sent down on a foul tip but swung for every strike. RHP Kirby Yates struck out the final batter, Estevan Florial for the final out of the night.

The Guardians only combined for 6 hits and 2 walks. They left all 8 runners on base and recorded 1 error.

Carlos Carrasco took the mound Wednesday night against the reigning champions. Cookie went a little long in the 1st inning. Throwing 20 pitches, only 10 of which were strikes. However, he locked in for the 2nd and 3rd inning, throwing only 21 pitches between the two innings and sending down all 6 hitters.

In the bottom of the 4th inning, Cookie found himself in a tough situation. Corey Seager recorded Texas’ first hit on the night off of a first pitch slider for a single up the middle. Carrasco struck out Lowe - his 2nd strikeout on the night. Two singles given up to Adolis Garcia and Josh Smith loaded the bases with only one out. An excellent display of fantastic defense prowess was shown by Josh Naylor. With a flawless execution, Naylor tagged first base and fluidly threw to Austin Hedges completing a 3-2 double play to end the inning.

In the 5th, the Rangers would finally strike. A 2-out triple to right field for Leody Taveras set up Marcus Semien for a 2-out, 2 RBI HR. It should be highlighted that Estevan Florial came awfully close to robbing that home run, with the tip of his glove just getting a piece of the ball.

Carrasco did not come out for the 6th inning. His final numbers: 5.0IP, 5H, 2R, both earned, 1BB, and 3K. His ERA is now 5.16 in 45.1IP on 9 starts. His record falls to 2-4.

Nick Sandlin was called upon in the bottom of the 6th. Sandlin is not used to pitching without runners on base, which might explain walking the first batter. Adolis García made Sandlin pay for the walk with a 1-out 2-run home run. Steven Vogt did not let Sandlin face another batter, turning to the bullpen to finish the inning. Nick Sandlin’s final numbers: 0.1IP, 1H, 2R, both earned, 1BB, 0K. His ERA is now 2.57 with a 0.71WHIP in 21.0IP. His record remains 3-0.

Peter Strzelecki came out to close out the 6th inning. The next 3 Texas batters got on base via a walk, a single, and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases with only one out. Thanks to the fielders, Strzelecki got out of the inning unscathed from an infield fly rule catch from José and a fly out to left fielder Florial. Strzelecki stayed in for the 7th sending all 3 batters down. Corey Seager lined out to right field, Nathaniel Lowe struck out swinging, and Adolis García hit a long line out (409ft to be exact) to center fielder Tyler Freeman.

Peter went 1.2IP with 1H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, and 1K. Over his 4 appearances, he has maintained a 0.00ERA, 1.06WHIP.

Pedro Avila threw a strong 9th inning, however an error on Josh Naylor and a walk got the first two batters on. Travis Jankowski hit a fly ball to left fielder Florial, who made a strong throw to 3rd base to hold the runners. Now that Florial is finally playing more outfield, he’s been given a chance to demonstrate his defensive skills. At a glance, I think Florial is going to make a name for himself with his impressive speed and relying on all 6’1” of his frame. The almost HR robbing catch showed me that his vertical leap can be a strong weapon for him and he has what looks like the makings of a strong arm. He still does not have enough data points for Baseball Savant to give an arm strength rating, but the eye test is giving me a lot to hope for from the 26-year-old. The inning would end with a 6-3 groundout for the 2nd out and a fly out to right field for the final out.

In hindsight, with this game being the 16th in 16 days, I don’t think there’s too much to be upset about. It does seem like this line up cannot get on the same schedule. When the top and bottom are hitting, the middle is cold and vice versa, which is not necessarily a bad thing. This team is able to string together wins because every day someone else is stepping up to fill in a role. The next up mentality that proved vital to the 2022 season success is showing in the clubhouse again. If the team can continue to hustle every time they leave the box, if they can keep each other afloat offensively, and if they continue to produce fundamentally phenomenal defensive plays all of the “extras” - the HRs, the platinum glove turning double plays, the 10 pitch 9K innings - will take this team from a good 1st place team to serious playoff contenders.

The Guardians record falls to 27-17. They are still 1.5 games ahead of the Royals and 2.0 games ahead of the Twins going into the weekend series against Minnesota.

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Cleveland Guardians News:

Zack Meisel wrote a great article on the numerous injuries catchers are subjected to (paywall).

The Guardians announce all planned City Connect games.

Logan Potosky with Sports Illustrated highlights Clase’s great start this season.

Mandy Bell has a great write-up on Austin Hedges receiving his World Series ring Monday night.

Around the League:

Rockies on a 7-game win streak - sweep the Padres.

Marlins pitcher Trevor Rogers earns first win since April 2023.

Houston Astros’ pitcher Ronel Blanco suspended for 10 games.