This was a short and unremarkable game. If you’re are a Guardians fan . . . well, what are you doing reading this blog? OK. If you’re a Guardians fan, there was much to celebrate in Gavin Williams’ seven-inning, three-hit, one-run, eleven-strikeout performance. The current MLB strikeout leader continued a fabulous streak where he’s allowed two ER in 24.2 innings, and now has a 2.12 ERA in 29.2 innings.
But without taking away anything from Williams, for the Orioles, the real story seems to be the bats, which remain missing in action after tonight’s 4-2 loss, a game where they managed just four hits total. The good news: Gunnar Henderson = still a stud. He finished 2-for-4 with a homer. Leody Taveras also went deep. He’s looked like a good signing thus far, doing it with the bat and the glove. Taylor Ward hit a double.
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But that’s it, folks. Pete Alonso finished 0-for-4 with four K’s. Golden Sombrero territory is not where we want to be with the offseason’s biggest signing. Dylan Beavers, 0-for-4 with three punchouts. Colton Cowser, another Golden Sombrero. And these are the No. 3-5 hitters in the lineup. How is the team exactly to produce runs while going a combined 0-for-12 with 11 K’s from this chunk of the lineup?
Cleveland’s rotation may be on a red-hot streak, but there have been too many of these performances.
The Orioles made some noise early, but as usual of late, no runs. Taylor Ward doubled in the first, but Dylan Beavers swung through a fastball and couldn’t push him home. Gunnar singled and made it to third on a throwing error in the third inning, but two K’s in a row left him stranded. Cleveland’s Williams fed Pete Alonso and Dylan Beavers a bunch of breaking stuff that they swung through. It was frustrating.
In the top of the fourth, Leody Taveras opened the scoring by walloping a curveball into the right field seats. This is the way the few teams that have scored runs off Gavin Williams have done it—by long ball. It was a good idea, but to make a 1-0 lead stick, you need ace pitching on the other side. Instead, the O’s had Dean Kremer.
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Maybe that’s too harsh. I continue to be happy to see Dean Kremer in the rotation. He threw six innings today and struck out seven. He allowed only two hits in that stretch. Regrettably, one of those was a home run with two on, courtesy of Brayan Rocchio. Dean Kremer has, in the past, had the tendency to go “boom” in the fifth inning. Today, he was nearly perfect through four, and then allowed three runs in the fifth. He walked Rhys Hopkins, hung a splitter that Daniel Schneeman roped into right, and then Bryan Rocchio made it 3-1 with that one swing, powering a fastball into the right field bleachers.
I’ll still take it, under the circumstances. He has a 6.12 career ERA in April. Considering, three runs on two hits and two walks in six innings from your No. 5 is fine, frankly.
No, I think we can safely say that the offense is the real problem here. They struck out 16 times and had just four hits, half of which belonged to Gunnar Henderson, who made it a manageable 3-2 game with an eighth-inning solo shot off Hunter Gattis, pitching for the third straight day and not maybe at his freshest. Down just one run, the O’s could smell another comeback.
But no comeback was forthcoming today. Bo Naylor took Albert Suárez deep off a low-and-inside changeup, and this was a 4-2 game. Then Cleveland’s Cade Smith struck out the side swinging in the ninth.
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Maybe the bats will heat up as the weather does. But for now, the Birds are not doing it at the dish, and there are lots of questions to be asked and answered. Game Four of the series, a Trevor Rogers start versus Joey Cantillo, is at 1:40 ET tomorrow.
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