The Guardians four game set with the Minnesota Twins is a huge weekend series for both clubs. But as the Guardians limp into the Twin Cities with a five game losing streak, is it possible that the spring/summer of fun can turn into a mess?
Guardians Pitching mess
The team is 9-10 after the Midsummer Classic. They are averaging four runs a game, while giving up 4.4 runs. They had two games where they shut the opponent out but themselves were shut out three times. In six of the nineteen games the opponent scored in the first inning. Over the past seven games they are allowing an average of four BBs, but those have been followed by home runs four times!
Guardians Batting mess
They are trending down in their batting average (.235) and ultimately their OPS (.637). Some aggressive baserunning accounted for getting out of innings (see Schneemann three times!) as did that odd 10th inning Monday where we couldn’t get Kwan to third base! Lane Thomas is in a horrendous 2 for 21 slump with 9 K’s. He stepped up with 19 men on base and with those 19, not ONE has scored! In 13 of those 33 at-bats with the Guardos, Lane has struck out. I can’t pin this all on Lane, though.
David Fry has been awful. His last seven games sees him hitting .125, 3 for 24. In fact his line reads .125/.192/.375/.567. That from the #4 or #5 hitter. Ouch!
The bullpen, once as dependable as the sun rising in the east, is having trouble getting outs in late innings. In every loss during this five game skid, the Guardians have never had a lead.
It would be easy to pick on one area as failure but it’s a combination of bad at-bats at key moments, giving up runs via walks/hits when the offense battled back, or just rotten luck (see falling outfielders!).
Vogt mistakes?
Manager Vogt should not be left off the hook. In the midst of this losing streak, he wanted to give his starters a night off. For example, Kwan was not in the starting lineup for the Tuesday game. I’m sorry. WTH?
With Lane struggling, maybe a sacrifice to move Kwan to third could have helped in Monday’s extra inning affair. Leaving Curry and Sandlin or Avila in longer than needed to “save” the pen was odd. I get it. Baseball is a grind. 162 games! But basically we threw two games to the O’s then dropped the three to the Snakes.
I am sure the doubleheaders this team has had to play sucks from a managing standpoint. If you can’t get your starters to go six innings, you are taxing everyone.
Help is on the way?
But help is on the way. Matt Dowd will join the team soon and Alex Cobb is starting the Friday game two affair.
Let’s hope these moves pay off. Right now, this club needs some good vibes! Bottom line is this weekend is crucial for this team. A four game split away I can take. We lose this series? Oh boy!
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