News and Notes - Victorious Offense Rally Sparked by Bunt

News and Notes for Thursday, May 23, 2024

The Cleveland Guardians found their 2nd straight series sweep in Wednesday’s day game versus the New York Mets.

Triston McKenzie took the mound for Cleveland going 5.0IP, giving up 5 hits, 3 runs, all earned, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts. All of the runs given up by McKenzie were solo shot homeruns. Triston struggled with his fastball velocity today only reaching 92.2 mph on a ball to Pete Alonso in the 2nd inning. Triston has a 3.44ERA with a 1.34WHIP.

The bullpen continued their dominant reign, not allowing another run from the Mets. Tim Herrin pitched the 6th inning giving up no hits and no walks. Herrin’s ERA in 20.2IP is 0.87 and he has a 0.92WHIP. Hunter Gaddis improved his record to 3-1 with the win. Hunter pitched 1.1IP, giving up only 1 hit with 3 strikeouts. Gaddis has thrown 24.1 innings in relief and currently has a 1.85ERA with a 0.90WHIP. Sam Hentges pitched the remainder of the 8th inning, only giving up 1 hit with 1 strikeout. Since his return from the IL on May 6th (and after a brief stint on the paternity list) Hentges has pitched a 3.00ERA in 6.0IP with a 0.67WHIP. Manager Steven Vogt turned to rookie RHP Cade Smith to close with Emmanuel Clase not available for today’s series finale. Smith pitched the 9th inning striking out 2 batters and only giving up 1 hit. Cade’s strong pitching continues to impress. In 22.1IP he is sporting a 2.01ERA and a 0.94WHIP. Cade Smith dominated the Baseball Savant pitch velocity table. The 5 fastest pitches thrown in Wednesday’s game all were attributed to Smith’s 4-seam fastball. His highest fastball velocity was 98.6mph.

Cleveland offense took time to get rolling with the first run on the night coming in the bottom of the 6th inning in one of the more unexpected hits. Austin Hedges, with 1-out, singled on a bunt. Yes, you read that correctly. The 6 run rally started with an Austin Hedges bunt.

Tyler Freeman had a 2-out double, advancing the runner to 3rd. When Andrés Giménez came up to bat against his former team. On a 3-1 count, Giménez hit a 3 run homerun to tie the game. I would not call Giménez necessarily stoic, but he is not typically one to show a lot of emotion on the field. Nothing more than a flash of a smile after a great defensive play or a grin as he rounds the bases. Based on Giménez’s response, this homerun meant something to the second baseman. Giménez let out a triumphant roar on his way to 2nd base. As he touched homebase Giménez pulled his jersey to his lips, kissing the “CLE” on the front of the City Connect jersey.

One swing of the bat (and seemingly unstoppable bullpen pitching) was all Cleveland needed to gather the moment for a win. In the bottom of the 7th, David Fry singled on a ground ball then advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch. David Fry’s heads-up play style once again meant the difference when Jonathan Rodriguez secured his first major league hit and major league RBI with a go-ahead single.

In the bottom of the 8th Andrés Giménez was hit by pitch and was brought home when José Ramírez doubled on a line drive to center field giving Cleveland the insurance run. Kyle Manzardo (PH for Gabriel Arias in the bottom of the 7th) hit an RBI double, scoring José Ramírez. I feel that it is safe to say that Kyle has acclimated to major league pitching. At this point he is in adjustment mode, making the small tweaks and changes. His first major league home run is near and looming, ready to break the dam holding back his offensive potential. Start warming up the memes and agendas now, the Kyle Manzardo rookie of the year push has begun.

Every win is big. Every win is important. This team is playing with that understanding. With Wednesday’s win they not only tied with the Yankees for the best record in the American League, but they also tied the Yankees for the 2nd best record in the MLB. The Guardians improve to 33-17. They will head into Anaheim on Friday to face the Angels with a 6 game win streak.

Cleveland Guardians News -

Zack Meisel had a great write up on the team’s success (and potentially lucky crop top). [paywall]

José Ramírez continues to make history and break records.

May 22nd continues to be a big day for birds and Cleveland outfielders.

Around the League -

MLB expands eligibility criteria for Negro League financial assistance.