One Down, One to Go Before They Count
While the Cactus League is officially over, the Cleveland Guardians have two more exhibition games in Phoenix, Arizona against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Both games will be at Chase Field before the Guardians head out to Kansas City for Opening Day on Thursday. Earlier on Monday the Guardians made moves to get the roster down to 25 players before making their final roster announcement within the next day or so. Until then, Gavin Williams was on the bump for the Guardians on Monday night against Eduardo Rodriguez who started the Diamondbacks. They won the penultimate game 4-3.
In his final tuneup before his first regular season start on Saturday, Williams just dominated for the Guardians. He pitched five scoreless innings only allowing five hits while striking out five in the process. Accorinding to Codify on X, the average drop to his curveball was 57”. Not a bad night for Williams as his Spring/Exhibition ERA finished with a 2.08. He was dialed in from the word go and it will be fun to see how he does on Saturday when games will count.
Hunter Gaddis came into the game in the top of the 6th to relieve Williams. He pitched the one inning giving up no hits, walks, or a strikeout. Gaddis had three groundouts for a 1-2-3 inning. Tim Herrin came into the game out of the bullpen in the bottom of the seventh. He did walk one but got out of the inning after a double play was turned by Will Wilson and Daniel Schneemann.
Emmanuel Clase came out of the pen in the bottom of the eighth inning. While he did give up a hit, he shut the door on the Diamondbacks striking out two batters in his one inning of work. The game got pretty dicey as Zane Morehouse finished up the pitching for the Guardians in the bottom of the ninth. Between wild pitches, hit batters, and tough defensive plays, they were able to get out of it. In his one inning of work, Morehouse gave up three runs on two hits while walking one and striking out one. His strikeout ended the game to preserve the 4-3 victory.
The offense was clicking early for the Guardians as the team scored four runs on 11 hits. The guys who stood out in the box:
– Steven Kwan goes three for four with a run scored and an RBI triple
– Jose Ramirez goes two for four with an RBI single and a run scored (wild pitch)
– Jhonkensy Noel goes two for three
– Lane Thomas gets an RBI on a fielder’s choice while Brayan Rocchio & Bo Naylor go one for three each
Overall, what a hitting display for the Guardians as they looked ready to start the season. In what looked like the Opening Day lineup, it gave fans a glimpse of what to expect when the season begins in Kansas City. While everyone waits for the final roster announcement, it is good to know baseball is back this week for real. Now games will matter.
The Guardians’ (12-18) next game will be Tuesday afternoon (March 25) against the Diamondbacks (17-13) for their last exhibition tuneup game before Opening Day on Thursday in Kansas City. First pitch is scheduled for 3:40 p.m. Eastern. Luis Ortiz will get the start for the Guardians while Jordan Montgomery starts for the Diamondbacks.