Double the Games, Double the Losses
The Cleveland Guardians are only eight days from Opening Day in Kansas City. Fans can almost smell the start of regular season baseball. Before we arrive there, the Guards had a split squad day on Wednesday. They had one game at “home” in Goodyear, AZ against the Athletics while the other team went to Tempe to take on the Los Angeles Angels. Gavin Williams was on the bump versus the A’s while Logan T. Allan was the starter versus the Angels. Unfortunately, neither split-squad team won but at least these games don’t count. What happened in each matchup to see the Guardians drop both games?
Game One: A’s at Guardians
Williams got the start for the 4:05 p.m. Eastern game against the Athletics in Goodyear, Arizona. He managed to go 4 1⁄3 innings striking out five and walking one in the Guardians’ 8-3 loss. However, he did manage to give up three earned runs in the process including a home run. His ERA went from sub 2.00 to 2.92. When Williams was pulled from the game, it was 3-3 after five innings.
After that though, a four-run top of the seventh inning broke the game wide open for the A’s as they tagged Tim Herrin for three runs, one earned, and Jack Jasiak for one run, which was unearned. It was a solo home run that gave Jasiak his unearned because the Guardians had two errors leading to the outburst. Herrin walked two in his 2⁄3 inning of work while Jasiak gave up two hits in 1⁄3 of an inning.
Hunter Gaddis did come into the game and stopped the bleeding. In an inning of work, he did not allow a hit and struck out two to shut the door on the A’s. Emmanuel Clase did pitch an inning only giving up one hit, an unearned run, and struck out one. He saw his ERA drop to 6.75 while Gaddis went to 3.86.
Regarding the hitters, the Guardians scored three runs on seven hits.
– Steven Kwan went one for four along with Lane Thomas (Thomas scoring a run)
– Carlos Santana went one for three with a walk
– Bo Naylor went one for four with an RBI double, his eighth RBI of the Spring
– Will Brennan, who’s been tearing the cover off the ball over the last week and a half, went one for three with an RBI – his sixth of the Spring
– Juan Brito went one for three while getting his seventh RBI at camp
Overall, not an ideal game for the Guardians. Williams looked decent in his start despite giving up three runs. His five strikeouts in 4 1⁄3 innings of work give some hope for him to be a solid number two in the rotation this upcoming season.
Game 2: Guardians at Angels
Unlike the game against the A’s, it seemed like the Guardians had a better chance to defeat the Angels in Tempe. However, just like the game in Goodyear, it was a five-run bottom of the eighth inning that sunk the Guards. They ended up losing 6-3 to the Angels.
Allan got the start for the Guardians and had a great outing. He went 4 2⁄3 innings only giving up one run while walking one. Furthermore, he managed to strike out six in the process to see his ERA drop back down to 1.89. Overall, that gives promise to see if Allan can work his way into the number five spot in the Guardians’ rotation. He has been having an okay Spring Training but with starts like that, it could make it hard for Stephen Vogt and the coaching staff to not add him to the 26-man roster for Opening Day.
However, what sank the Guardians came in the bottom of the eighth when Cade Smith and Steven Perez got tagged for a combined five runs in an inning of work. Smith pitched 2⁄3 of the inning giving up three earned runs while walking one and striking out two batters. His ERA after that limited outing saw it balloon to 9.64. Perez went only 1⁄3 of the innings and gave up two runs himself. Perez’s runs came off of a two-run home run to Jo Addell. His Era went soaring to 54.00, however, it’s only Spring Training so at least it does not count.
For the hitters, Micah Pries shined the brightest in this one. In the top of the eighth, he hit a two-run home run to give the Guardians the 3-1 lead at the time. He picked up his eighth RBI of camp with the home run. Pries went one for three in the game.
The only other RBI came from a single from Angel Martinez back in the top of the second inning. Martinez finished the day with a two for three game.
Other notable hitters:
– Brayan Rocchio went three for four
– Kyle Manzardo went one for three
– Will Wilson went one for three
All in all, both games were lost on monster innings in the seventh inning and beyond. In the end, at least it’s only Spring Training as the Guardians are more focused on getting ramped up for Opening Day next Thursday.
The Guardians’ (10-15) next game is on Friday, March 21 against the San Francisco Giants (17-6). The game will be played in Scottsdale, Arizona with the first pitch starting at 4:05 p.m. Eastern. Ben Lively (2-1, 3.55 ERA, 9 K) will get the start for the Guardians while Logan Webb (3-0, 1.84 ERA, 15 K) starts for the Giants. Fans can listen to the game on WTAM 1100 or on Guardians Radio Network.