The Cleveland Guardians are the hottest team in baseball. As of this past weekend, they have won 16 of their last 19 games, including a much needed 6-1 homestand against the Royals and White Sox. Let’s take a look at what they have done over the last couple of weeks.
Guardians @ Tampa Bay Rays – Sept. 4-7
The Guards dropped the first game in Tampa, 4-2. They were held to just three hits by Ryan Pepiot and the Rays pitching staff.
They bounced back in a major way in game two, however. A 7-1 win was lead by seven innings of one-run pitching by starter Gavin Williams. Williams gave up seven hits and three walks, striking out three. Offensively, Cleveland was led by Steven Kwan and José Ramírez. Their two best hitters combined for five hits and four RBI, while Austin Hedges tacked on a solo home run.
The following night, the club got another great outing from their starter. Tanner Bibee gave up two runs on five hits and one walk in six and two-thirds pitched. The bullpen held strong over the last three-plus innings, giving up no runs. Kwan broke a tie in the ninth inning with an RBI single to put the team ahead 3-2, a score that would hold. Cade Smith followed that up with a successful save in the bottom half of the ninth.
The Guardians wrapped up their road trip with another nail-biter and yet another starter’s gem in Tampa. This time, rookie Parker Messick gave the squad six one-run innings. His only run came in the fifth on a Carson Williams solo homer to put the Rays up 1-0. Cleveland responded immediately in the sixth. Angel Martínez led off the inning with a single. Ramírez tripled after him to bring in the tying run. With two outs in the inning, Gabriel Arias singled to put the team ahead 2-1. More outstanding bullpen performances held the game at that score.
The Rays have struggled since the break, but they have a good pitching staff, and it is never easy to take a four-game series on the road. The Guardians took care of business down south and took a happy flight home to meet the Royals.
Guardians vs. Kansas City Royals – Sept. 8-11
The team was met in Cleveland by a host of dogs, as Progressive Field hosted “Bark in the Park” during game one of this series. They gave fans of all kinds reasons to howl as they pounded Kansas City 10-2. The trend of dominant pitching continued, with Slade Cecconi carrying a no-hitter into the ninth inning. He left the game having thrown eight scoreless innings, giving up one hit, three walks, and recording three strikeouts. The top four in Cleveland’s order (Kwan, Daniel Schneeman, Ramírez, and Kyle Manzardo) combined for nine hits and six runs batted in. A dominant win set the tone against the division-rival Royals.
We have seen that the Guardians go as their starting rotation goes. They expanded to a six-man rotation after Messick’s call-up, and giving pitchers an extra day of rest has proven to be invaluable. The Guards got another masterclass, this time from Joey Cantillo. He tossed eight scoreless, leading his team to a speedy 2-0 win. The game’s only scores came on a Ramírez homer in the first and a David Fry double in the fourth. The game lasted just one hour and fifty-eight minutes.
Both teams came out of the gate hot in game three Kansas City scored a run in the first, to which Cleveland answered with two in the bottom half of the frame. The Guardians put 12 runners on base via hit or walk, but they struggled to get them in scoring position. They had only five at-bats with RISP. These offensive struggles proved costly, and the Guardians fell to the Royals 4-3.
Cleveland wrapped up their series with Kansas City with more of the same. Gavin Williams provided another quality start, which was answered by Royals pitcher Stephen Kolek, who gave up one run over six and two-thirds innings. Both teams only managed five hits apiece, and the Guardians trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth. Rookie C.J. Kayfus hit a long home run off of John Schreiber to bring in two and give the Guardians a lead that would stand. This was a big swing in his young career, as the difference between splitting and winning a series in mid-September is what separates playoff teams from those on the bubble.
Guardians vs. Chicago White Sox – Sept. 12-14
It feels as though the Guardians played the same game over and over in this series. Game one against the White Sox offered the best pitching performance of the year for the Guardians. Tanner Bibee threw a complete game shutout, Cleveland’s first since Zach Plesac did so against the Angels in 2019. Cleveland spread out four one-run innings, plenty behind Bibee’s gem, to win 4-0.
Parker Messick was back on the hill for game two of this series. He was strong, with six innings pitched and just one run allowed. Kayfus hit another two-run homer in the second and Jhonkensy Noel homered in the eighth to bring the Guards a 3-1 victory and another series win.
Going for a sweep to finish the homestand, Cleveland sent out Slade Cecconi to face Chicago for the last time this season. He was solid, giving up two runs in the middle innings. Bo Naylor did it all for the Guardians though, with a two-run double and a solo home run. The bullpen was strong yet again, and Cleveland was able to hold on to a 3-2 lead and another win at home. The Guardians improved to 41-34 at home this year.
Looking Forward
The Guardians finish their season with three games each at home against Detroit and Texas. They currently sit just outside of a playoff spot, but recent Guards teams have shown us that we shouldn’t count them out until the very last day of the season.
