Category Archives: Guardians

Nick Sandlin out for year

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The Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher will miss the remainder of the postseason.

Cleveland’s bullpen will be down one relief arm for the rest of the postseason. Nick Sandlin has a Teres Major muscle strain that led to his removal from Saturday’s win over Tampa.

As expected the Guardians have replaced Sandlin on their postseason roster ahead of their series against the Yankees.

Nick Sandlin was a valuable member of Cleveland’s bullpen this season, striking out 41 batters in 44 innings. Sandlin allowed three earned runs over his last 26 appearances dating back to July 9th. Opponents hit just .148 and slugged .173 against the 25-year old reliever. Being without a pitcher who is able to shut down opponents will make things a bit more difficult for Cleveland as they continue their postseason quest.

Guardians adjust ALDS roster

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The Cleveland Guardians have made some roster adjustments ahead of their series with the New York Yankees.

As expected the Cleveland Guardians have made some roster moves prior to facing the New York Yankees in the ALDS. Aaron Civale and Cody Morris are in while Nick Sandlin and Kirk McCarty are out.

With Sandlin being out for the year and McCarty only being used out of the bullpen since late-July, adding Civale and Morris was a no-brainer. Should any of Cleveland’s starters falter in the first three games they are going to need length out of the bullpen. Having options such as Civale and Morris would be more beneficial in this type of situation. It makes sense that the Guardians would opt for these arms over others.

Guardians set ALDS pitching order

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The Cleveland Guardians have set their pitching rotation for the first three games of the ALDS against New York.

After completing their sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays, the Cleveland Guardians have determined their pitching order against the New York Yankees. Cal Quantrill gets Game 1 while Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie will follow.

Quantrill pitched once against the Yankees, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks while striking out two with one of the hits being a Josh Donaldson solo homer.

Bieber is the only one of the three Guardians pitchers set to pitch who did not face the Yankees this season. The last time Bieber faced New York was in 2021, striking out nine and allowing two runs on four hits and two walks.

McKenzie dominated New York, allowing just one hit and striking out seven Yankee batters across seven innings.

Taking the series against Tampa in just two games is huge for Cleveland. Being able to use Quantrill in Game 1 rather than rushing back Bieber on short rest is ideal for the Guardians. Things would have looked a lot different if Cleveland was not able to come out victorious in that five hour 15 inning marathon on Saturday.

Guardians advance via Gonzalez walk-off

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The Cleveland Guardians are headed to the American League Division Series after Oscar Gonzalez hit a walk-off homer.

It took 15 innings, five hours of baseball, and a ton of strikeouts, but the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 1-0. Oscar Gonzalez came up in the bottom half of the inning, SpongeBob theme and all, and proceeded deposit the second pitch of his at-bat into the left field bleachers.

Gonzalez did not seem fazed by facing former Cleveland pitcher Corey Kluber and looked very comfortable in the final at-bat of the game. There are many rookies that would not be able to come through in that situation, but Gonzalez is clearly not one of those rookies. The 24-year old rookie was a very productive bat for the Guardians this season, slugging .461 with 11 home runs and 27 doubles.

This young Guardians team continues to show that they can still come out on top even if it appears it may not be their day. The Guardiac Kids are here and it definitely seems like they are for real.

Next up for Cleveland? The New York Yankees in the American League Division Series.

Guardians defeat Rays 2-1

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The Cleveland Guardians defeated the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 2-1 in the first game of the American League Wild Card Series.

Well, the Guardiac Kids did it again. Finding themselves down 1-0 after Jose Siri hit a solo home run off of Shane Bieber to give Tampa the lead, the Guardians needed to conjure up some magic. Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan held Cleveland scoreless for five innings, but a sixth was not in the cards. Amed Rosario would reach on a one-out single to set up such a predictable moment. Jose Ramirez turned around the third pitch of his at-bat and sent it over the wall to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead they would hold on to for the remainder of the game.

This series of events was building throughout the game. Time after time the Guardians would get runners on base and not be able to score. It simply felt that their time would come, all they needed to do was be patient and take advantage when it presented itself.

Everything would fall into place with the Guardians now leading and Bieber still on the mound. The former Cy Young Award winner would strike out eight in 7.2 innings with one run allowed on three hits and a walk before handing the ball over to Emmanuel Clase in the 8th. Terry Francona opted for his closer in a four out situation as the above mentioned Siri was up with a man and this was not the time to take away chances. Siri has been hitting Bieber hard lately and it is best not to tempt fate more than anyone should.

The Guardians closer would get the four outs he was tasked with, giving Cleveland their first postseason win since 2017.

Looking ahead

Cleveland will not be limited when it comes to pitching options. Bieber going 7.2 innings combined with Clase’s four out save has preserved the bullpen and put the Guardians in a comfortable spot pitching wise. It is a much better feeling knowing that relief options are plentiful rather than limited.

It will be Triston McKenzie taking the mound in Game 2 against Tyler Glasnow as Cleveland looks for their first series win since 2016.

Guardians set Wild Card Series roster

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The Cleveland Guardians have set their roster ahead of the Wild Card Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Nothing too surprising overall, but it is worth noting that the bench features two catchers and all but one player is a rookie.

The Guardiac Kids are no stranger to having rookies on their roster. While the bench of a playoff team usually features a couple of veterans that are not catchers, the Guardians are sticking to what has worked for them all season. Cleveland has got this far as the youngest team in baseball and there is no reason to change things now.

Guardians: Jose really wants Amed to stay

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Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez really wants the Guardians to pay Amed Rosario in order to keep him in town.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who has watched even one Cleveland Guardians game this season, but Jose Ramirez wants Amed Rosario to stay. There have been plenty of times during game broadcasts that this very topic has come up and has received mixed responses on the internet. Ramirez jokingly said that he would help pay for Rosario to stay in town.

Amed Rosario is coming off one of his better seasons as a hitter, slashing .283/.312/.403 while leading all of baseball with nine triples. The veteran shortstop’s 180 hits is a career-high while his 26 doubles and 11 home runs are tied for his second highest mark.

When it comes to discussing Amed Rosario and his place on the Guardians it is not necessarily about what he accomplishes as a hitter. The discussion is about his defense and where he hits in the lineup. Rosario is very much average when it comes to defense and that could become a big issue with the impending shift ban. A position change may be needed in order to justify his spot in the Guardians lineup. Speaking of spot in the lineup, it would be ideal if the hitter in the two-hole drew more walks, Rosario’s 25 this season ties him with Austin Hedges for seventh on the team, not exactly the company he wants to be in.

There is a world that Rosario stays in Cleveland beyond his final year of arbitration next season. Of course some adjustments may need to be made in the position and lineup spot department as mentioned above. If these matters can be agreed to amicably Jose may get his wish after all, even without having to pay out of his own pocket.

Guardians to face Rays in Wild Card Series

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The Cleveland Guardians are set to take on the Tampa Bay Rays.

The waiting game is over as the Cleveland Guardians now know that they will take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card Series. Cleveland already knew that they would be hosting their opponent in their series beginning Friday as they clinched the American League Central. All the Guardians had to do was wait for everything else to sort itself out and now it has.

Cleveland took four of their six matchups with Tampa this season, the most recent being at the end of September. Across their six contests it was the Guardians outscoring the Rays 22-18, with the largest margin of victory being just three runs back on July 29th. These two teams are incredibly similar as they do not rely on the long ball for offense and are backed by strong pitching. This is as close as a coin flip series as they come. It would not be a surprise to see either team advance and take on the New York Yankees in the ALDS.

Jose Ramirez fourth 20-20 season

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The Cleveland Guardians third baseman has recorded his fourth 20-20 season.

Jose Ramirez is a special talent, that much is clear. This season the Cleveland Guardians third baseman recorded his fourth 20 home run 20 stolen base season, tying Grady Sizemore for the most in franchise history. Ramirez has 29 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 155 games this season.

Omitting the shortened 2020 season, this would be the fourth consecutive 20-20 season for Jose Ramirez. Ramirez has helped propel the young upstart Guardians to their American League Central title and looks to continue his production into the postseason. Helping Ramirez will be the likes of American League monthly award winners Steven Kwan and Emmanuel Clase in addition to the rest of the Guardiac Kids as they look for a deep playoff run on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

Guardians: Kwan, Clase win monthly awards

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Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan and closer Emmanuel Clase each came away with a monthly award.

Anyone who has paid attention to the Cleveland Guardians has recognized that Steven Kwan and Emmanuel Clase have been outstanding this season. Their performances have resulted in each of these players winning American League awards for the month of September.

Kwan was named the AL Rookie of the Month, slashing .325/.396./.450 with 21 runs scored, 14 RBI, three home runs, two doubles, and two triples in 28 games. The Guardians rookie outfielder also walked 13 times and stole seven bases.

Clase earned AL Reliever of the Month honors for September. The Guardians closer finished 12 games and saving 10, including his 40th of the season, Clase struck out 16 of the 64 batters faced in 17 games (16 innings).

It appears that the Guardians are having two key players peaking at just the right time. The postseason begins Friday and this is the type of momentum they need to continue for an extended run. Kwan and Clase are just two of many players that Cleveland will count in the playoffs. Things appear to be falling into place at the right time for the American League Central Champions.