Guarding The Corner Episode 6 – Myles Straw’s (Almost) Fight Club: James and Bryan discuss the Guardians being swept in New York, Myles Straw, Kyle Schwarber’s problem with Angel Hernandez, the injury to Eloy Jimenez, and their series against the Angels.
Four minutes. That was apparently enough for Gerrit Cole to not perform at a high level, or at least that is what he says. Cole said the game starting at 1:12 instead of 1:08 was “an unforeseen challenge”.
It was Opening Day, at home no less. Makes one wonder what exactly Cole was expecting festivity wise for this event. If Cole was really concerned about Opening Day festivities throwing him off, he should have asked Aaron Boone to not start on Opening Day.
Baseball players are creatures of habit, with pitchers taking that to the next level, but Gerrit Cole blaming the three earned runs on four hits and one walk on a four minute delay is just plain ridiculous. A much better reason that Cole could have used that would have been believable is the shortened spring training/ramp up period. While it would still be viewed as an excuse by rival fanbases, it would fall more on the reason side of the spectrum than excuse for many.
Luckily for the Yankees, New York would go on to beat the Boston Red Sox in their Home Opener 6-5 in 11 innings.
The unlikeliest of unlikely outcomes came Sunday afternoon in The Bronx. The Cleveland Baseball Club hammered Yankees starter Gerrit Cole as they came away with a 11-1 victory over New York. Cole allowed seven runs on 10 hits while walking one and striking out seven in 5.2 innings. What bit Cole was the long ball as he allowed home runs to Jose Ramirez and Roberto Perez in back-to-back innings before exiting the game. Prior to that it was three RBI singles which gave Cleveland the lead. Harold Ramirez came though in the 1st and 3rd innings, driving in four runs off just two hits while Perez singled home a run in 3rd as well.
Cleveland totaled 16 hits in all and scored 11 runs along the way while walking three times. Jose Ramirez was a perfect 4-4 and Yu Chang went 3-5, accounting for nearly half of Cleveland’s hits.
Eli Morgan started the game for Cleveland and he was impressive. Morgan struck out just three batters while allowing one run on six hits in 6 innings of work. The only run allowed by Morgan was a solo home run from former Cleveland baseball player Gio Urshela. After Morgan it was three scoreless innings form Trevor Stephan, Blake Parker, and Sam Hentges.
For those who loved pitcher’s duels this was the game for you. The matchup between the Cleveland Baseball Club and New York Yankees featured 20 strikeouts, 8 total hits, and 3 total runs scored. The problem? They only scored 1 run in what was their third straight loss to the Yankees.
Shane Bieber started for Cleveland and as per usual was outstanding. Bieber limited New York to 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 9 and walking 3. Two of the four hits allowed by Bieber were solo home rusn by Aaron Hicks and Rougned Odor, which was enough to hand Cleveland the loss. If Cleveland was facing any other pitcher and/or team on Saturday this could have been enough for a different result.
The Yankees starter was Gerrrit Cole and he shut down the Cleveland offense from the get go. Cole struck out 11 batters in 7 innings while allowing 1 runs on 3 hits. Cleveland’s lone run came after a Jose Ramirez triple and Eddie Rosario single to drive him in.
After losing Thursday, Friday, and now Saturday, Cleveland is on the brink of being swept and falling into fourth place in the division. It is still incredibly early, but being on the wrong side of a four-game sweep is never good.
The Cleveland Baseball Club is turning to Shane Bieber while the Yankees send out Gerrit Cole. Cleveland is looking to get their first win of the series while New York is looking to secure a series win. Friday’s loss to New York was almost a carbon copy of Thursday’s and that must eat away at Cleveland.
Shane Bieber is looking to continue his outstanding start of the season. Bieber has been absolutely dominant this season as he made some history in his last start, striking out 13 en route a Cleveland win. Bieber’s 48 strikeouts this season lead all of baseball by a comfortable margin. This matchup will prove to be a bit more difficult as the Yankees are a tough opponent despite their early season struggles.
In previous matchups Shane Bieber has been incredibly effective against the Yankees batters, holding them to a 3 hits in 22 at-bats and 7 strikeouts. One of the three hits allowed by Bieber was a Brett Gardner home run, but that appears to be nothing more than an anomaly.
Like Shane Bieber, Gerrit Cole has dominated the next lineup he faces. Cole has held Cleveland batters to 4-36 with 12 strikeouts in the past. Jake Bauers and Jose Ramirez have each homered off Cole previously, the only extra-base hits for Cleveland off the Yankees starter.
