News and Notes - Guardians Reclaim Sole Possession of First Place

A 7th inning rally leads to a much needed victory for the Cleveland Guardians.

The Cleveland Guardians avoided a series sweep Wednesday. Tanner Bibee took the mound in a rare rough outing for the righty. Bibee threw 5.0 innings, giving up 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. Three of the runs were the result of home runs but Bibee struck out 6 batters. Bibee started the 6th inning, walking the first batter and allowing two singles. Tim Herrin came in to relieve Bibee, getting two outs before giving up a single to Maikel Garcia. Stephen Vogt turned to the bullpen again, bringing in Eli Morgan as the 3rd pitcher in the 6th inning. Morgan faced Bobby Witt Jr. for a 7 pitch battle. With runners on first and second, a 79.6 mph changeup low was hit into a fly out to end the 6th.

Morgan pitched the 7th inning allowing 1 hit and striking out 2. Hunter Gaddis came in to pitch the 8th inning and was back to peak form. Gaddis earned his 28th hold without giving up a hit or allowing a walk.

Emmanuel Clase closed the game for the Guardians, securing his 39th save of the season and tied Cody Allen in franchise saves. At the age of 26 Clase is sporting a 0.58 ERA over 62.1 innings pitched. He has a 0.67 WHIP and a staggering 707 ERA+.

Cleveland offense looked to get a quick start, being down two runs in the bottom of the 1st. After being hit by pitch, Andrés Giménez advanced to third when José Ramírez hit a single line drive to right field. Giménez was brought home when Josh Naylor grounded into a force out. The Guardians weren’t able to close the gap until the bottom of the 5th. Jhonkensy Noel started the inning with a single to right field and was followed by a single from Daniel Schneemann. Bo Naylor hit a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. Down two runs, Steven Kwan singled on a pop up allowing Jhonkensy to score and cutting the Royals lead to one run. Going into the bottom of the 7th, the Royals led the Guardians 5 to 2. With the first pitch of the inning, a 92.4 mph four-seam fastball, Bo Naylor kicked things off with a 379 foot home run to right center.

Bo’s 11th home run of the season was just what the Guardians needed to kick off a rally. Steven Kwan and Andrés Giménez both hit singles, ending the day for Kansas City starter Michael Wacha. The relief pitcher, with runners on 1st and 2nd, threw a wild pitch allowing Kwan to advance to 3rd. With one out, Josh Naylor hit a single to center field, scoring Kwan. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Will Brennan singled for his first hit of the game, scoring Giménez and tying the game. Jhonkensy Noel hit a single of his own that was bobbled by left fielder MJ Melendez, allowing the go ahead run to score as Josh Naylor crossed the plate.

In the top of the 8th, Giménez took a bow after showing the Royals why his teammates call him platinum.

In the bottom of the 8th Bo Naylor started things off again, this time being hit by pitch to reach base. Bo was lifted for Lane Thomas to come in as a pinch runner. Lane showed his base running skills, stealing his 31st on the season and then advancing to 3rd on a throwing error by the catcher. Lane was brought home on a Giménez sacrifice fly for the Guardian’s final run of the game.

This game was a complete team effort with every Cleveland batter recording at least one hit. Despite the recent stretch, we as fans are reminded again of the greatness we are witnessing every time Emmanuel Clase takes the mound. A closer has a legitimate chance at placing, and even winning, the AL Cy Young.

The team has an off day today before moving into a weekend series against the Pirates. Despite this recent stretch, there is still so much to look forward to from the team. Today showed the team we have been rooting for all season both in production and also in energy. Hopefully this momentum can carry through the weekend and into September when rosters expand to start rebuilding the foundation and cushion needed to get to the playoffs. On top of pressure of the playoffs, the Guardians are facing a 17 game stretch to end the season. They are truly entering an “every game counts” situation.

For what its worth, Mercury was in retrograde from August 5th until yesterday. Maybe this stretch can be attributed to bad vibes.

AL Central Standings

Cleveland Guardians - 76-58

Kansas City Royals - 75-59 - 1.0 GB

Minnesota Twins - 72-60 - 3.0 GB

Detroit Tigers - 67-66 - 8.5 GB

Chicago White Sox - 31-102 - 44.5 GB

With Wednesday’s victory the Guardians remain in 3rd place in the American League, just two games behind the 1st place New York Yankees. The National League continues to dominate the MLB standings with the Guardians falling to 7th. The Yankees and the Orioles are the only American League teams in the top 5 and the Dodgers and Phillies continue to battle it out for the best team in the league.

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Around the League

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