CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
YANKEES TAKE RUBBER MATCH, 4-3
Prior to yesterday’s scheduled team off day, the Guardians dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to New York-AL in Wednesday afternoon’s series finale, as Oswaldo Cabrera delivered a two-out RBI-single in the 9th to break a 3-3 tie and complete the Yankees come-from-behind win…Cleveland finished 2-4 on first homestand of 2023 against Seattle (1-2) & New York-AL (1-2) following a season-opening 5-2 road trip thru Seattle (3-1) & Oakland (2-1)… Guardians (7-6) have won 7 of last 12 and hold sole possesion of 2nd place in the AL Central standings, 2.0 games behind Minnesota (9-4).
Cleveland’s offense built a 3-0 advantage in the contest to back a solid Major League debut by starter PEYTON BATTENFIELD (4.2IP, 4H, 2R-1ER, 0BB, 3SO, 66 pitches)…a pair of 1st-inning hits by STEVEN KWAN (single) and JOSÉ RAMÍREZ (double) set up RBI-singles by JOSH NAYLOR and JOSH BELL…AMED ROSARIO also cracked a solo homer (1) off Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt (4.0IP, 6H, 3R-ER, 1BB, 3SO, 1HR, 72 pitches) to lead off the 3rd…New York-AL answered with a pair of runs in the 5th, capitalizing on 3 consecutive singles and an errant relay throw from the outfield that struck 2nd-base umpire Larry Vanover in the head…Franchy Cordero greeted TREVOR STEPHAN with a game-tying solo shot on his fourth pitch of the 7th inning, Cordero’s second homer and fourth RBI of the series.
WASHINGTON WALKTHROUGH
From Friday to Sunday, the Guardians travel to Washington D.C. for a 3-game set against the Nationals…the two clubs last squared off from September 27-29, 2019 in D.C….Washington swept all three games in decisive fashion (8-2, 10-7, 8-2)…the Guardians are 8-11 all-time against the Washington franchise, holding a 5-3 record at Progressive Field and 3-8 record when on the road…the two sides first squared off in 2002 when the Nationals were known as the Montreal Expos, then squared off in 3-game sets in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019…in 8 total games played at Nationals Park, Cleveland holds a 2-6 record.
JOSÉ BEING JOSÉ
JOSÉ RAMÍREZ saw his 15 game hit streak dating back to last season snap on Monday against the Yankees…he and HOU’s José Abreu were the only two MLB hitters to open the 2023 season with one-or-more-hits in each of their first 10 games…Ramírez, leads MLB this season with 4 intentional walks after tallying the most in baseball last year with 20…his 4 go-ahead RBI rank T2nd in MLB this season…his 6 doubles and one triple both rank T5th in the league, respectively…Ramírez also leads MLB in both extra base hits and doubles since 2017.
Ramírez (295) is now just one double away from tying Charlie Jamieson (296) for the 7th-most doubles in franchise history…his 192 career home runs rank T10th in club history with Al Rosen, needing one more to sit alone in 10th.
EXTRA-BASE HIT LEADERS IN MLB, 2017-23
PLAYER XBH
JOSÉ RAMÍREZ 423
Nolan Arenado 404
Mookie Betts 396
J.D. Martinez 393
DOUBLES LEADERS IN MLB, 2017-23
PLAYER XBH
JOSÉ RAMÍREZ 225
Nick Castellanos 224
Mookie Betts 216
Xander Bogaerts 212
SMALL-BALL SHOWDOWN
Heading into tonight’s contest, Washington (5) and Cleveland (6) are struggling to find power as the two clubs have hit the fewest home runs of any MLB clubs this season…the Nationals (.333, 29th in MLB) and Guardians (.345, 27th) also rank in the bottom 4 in the league in slugging percentage…strikeouts could come at a premium as both the Nats (5.63-to-1, 1st) and Guards (5.22-to-1, 4th) rank in the top 5 of MLB in plate appearances-per-strikeout… both sides have experience in sacrifice situations this season as Washington (3) is tied for most sacrifice hits in MLB with San Diego and Cleveland paces the league with 8 sacrifice flies…Washington is tied with Chicago-NL for fewest strikeouts in MLB and also ranks 2nd in the NL in singles (85)…Cleveland ranks 1st in MLB with 9 intentional walks while also ranking 2nd in walks (63)…their 12 infield hits are also T1st in the AL, T3rd in MLB.
GUARDIANS OF THE BASEPATHS
The Guardians are T1st in MLB with 19 steals, ranking even with Baltimore, and have only been caught twice in 21 attempts… marks the 12th time in club history and the first time since 1994 that Cleveland has 19 steals in the first 13 games of the season… the last team before the Orioles and Guardians this season with 19-or-more steals through the team’s first 13 games was the 2020 Padres.
MYLES STRAW ranks T2nd in MLB with 6 stolen bases with Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. and Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins, behind the Orioles Jorge Mateo (7)…the Guardians feature five players in the top 25 in MLB in stolen bases (also Ramírez, Giménez, Kwan and Rosario) the most of any MLB team.
ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ continues to lead MLB in runs scored this season, reaching home plate 14 times through 13 games…Straw accomplished the same feat last season…Giménez and Straw are the first pair of Cleveland teammates to score 14+ runs in 13-orfewer-games in consecutive seasons since Grady Sizemore in 2007 and Travis Hafner in 2006.
PATIENCE AT THE PLATE
Though the season’s first 13 games, STEVEN KWAN leads MLB with 275 pitches seen, with Atlanta’s Matt Olson trailing just behind him at 269…AMED ROSARIO also ranks T21st (233)…as a team, the Guardians lead the AL and rank 2nd in MLB behind San Diego (2,131) in pitches seen (2,079)…Cleveland’s 23.7% swingand-miss-percentage is the 5th-best in MLB and 3rd-best in the AL.
TONIGHT’S STARTER – 47 CAL QUANTRILL RHP
TONIGHT’S START
The 28 year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his third start of the season, his second on the road, in the opener of this 3-game set against Washington…will be pitching on extended 5 days’ rest after shouldering a 3-2 loss on Saturday vs. Seattle…Quantrill’s first start on the road came in a 6-5 win, April 2 at Seattle (ND, 4.2IP, 8H, 5R-4ER, HR, 2BB, 3SO)…is in his third full season with the Guardians after being acquired by Cleveland from San Diego during the 2020 season in a deal that included Mike Clevinger.
LAST TIME OUT
Last start came in a 3-2 loss on April 8 vs. Seattle at Progressive Field, as Quantrill surrendered 3R/ER on 7 hits with 3 K’s and one walk…the loss snapped a 14 game home win-streak and was his first career loss at Progressive Field…he had not lost a start at home since September 9, 2019 when he was with San Diego – a span of 36 starts…started off the game giving up three straight singles and navigated out of the inning, only allowing 2 runs to score…he settled down, allowing one run over his next 4.0 innings…marked first time to complete 5.0 innings in 4 career games/3 starts-against Seattle (0-1, 5.65 ERA).
UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY
This will be his first career start against Washington…with today’s start, he will have faced every team in MLB besides Cleveland and Miami…the righty has made 4 career starts against the NL East, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.57 ERA (6ER/21.0IP) – his best ERA against any division.
Tonight marks Quantrill’s 23rd career appearance and 12th start in Interleague Play, owning a 3-1 record and a 3.24 ERA (26ER/72.1IP) with 60 strikeouts and 26 walks in his 22 prior appearances…he recorded a save in Interleague Play on August 18, 2020 vs. Texas while he was with San Diego.
RECENT ROAD WARRIOR
After starting the 2022 campaign with a 1-5 record across his first 7 road tilts, Quantrill bounced back after the All-Star break to win 5 consecutive decisions across his final 6 starts away from home (5-0, 2.31ERA; 9ER/35.1IP) – all 6 of those team victories… Quantrill compiled 32 strikeouts and received 4-or-more runs of support in 5 of those 6 road outings from July 22 until end of season…he enjoyed a 9.42 RSA on the road in that span, ranking 3rd in the AL and 4th in MLB, behind TOR’s Kevin Gausman (9.92), TOR’s Ross Stripling (10.16) and ATL’s Kyle Wright (11.23).
CAL AND HIS PALS
Quantrill received an MLB-best 6.33 runs of support-per-9.0 innings in 2022…over the course of a full season, his run support average was the highest by a qualified Cleveland pitcher since Jake Westbrook (6.73) and Paul Byrd (6.59) in 2006…Guardians hitters supplied four-or-more runs of support in 12 of his last 17 starts to end 2022…Quantrill’s 22 team wins in games he started ranked 4th in MLB and 3rd in the AL last season…offense supplied 83 total runs of support (7.65 runs/game) through his final 17 starts of 2022, with Quantrill going 11-0 in that span…in the righty’s first 2 starts of 2023 the Guards have combined for just 5 runs of support.
RUN SUPPORT AVERAGE LEADERS, 2022
NAME TEAM RSA RS RECORD
Cal Qauntrill CLE 6.33 131 15-5
Kyle Wright ATL 6.29 126 17-5
José Urquidy HOU 6.24 114 13-8
Jameson Taillon NYY 6.24 123 14-5
José Berríos TOR 5.86 112 12-7
CUTTER MISCUES
Through his first two starts, opposing batters are 8-for-21 (.381) with 3 doubles in at-bats ending with his cutter…in 2022, opposing batters finished with a .235 average (55-for-234) with 47 strikeouts in such at-bats…the 47 strikeouts were the most of any pitch in his repertoire
WASHINGTON NATIONALS NOTES:
WELCOME HOME
Following a day off on Thursday, the Washington Nationals open a five-game homestand on Friday night against the Cleveland Guardians…The Nationals will enjoy another off day on Monday before welcoming the Baltimore Orioles to D.C. for a two-game series starting on Tuesday.
• Washington completed the road trip with a 3-4 record despite outscoring the Rockies and Angles 31-28 across the seven games.
• Nationals pitchers held Shohei Ohtani (1-for-7, BB, 4 SO) and Mike Trout (0-for-11, HBP, BB, 4 SO, R) to just one hit during the three-game series at Los Angeles.
BULLPENNING
Ricky Bones’ bullpen has inherited 10 runners over the last three games and none of them have come around to score…During this three-game stretch, Nationals relievers have pitched to a 0.84 ERA (1 ER/10.2 IP) with 12 strikeouts, five walks and four hits allowed (.118 opp. AVG).
• On the season, the bullpen ranks fourth in the National League in opponents’ on-base percentage (.304) and in opponents’ batting average (.231).
PLAYIN’ THE HITS
Washington’s ranks tied for sixth in the National League in hits (109) and eighth in the with a .251 batting average…Despite being one-hit for the sixth time in team history (2005-pres.) on Tuesday night, the Nationals have recorded double-digit hits in three of their last six games.
• Nationals hitters have struck out just 87 times, tied for the fewest in Major League Baseball with the Chicago Cubs.
DEFENSE NOT RESTING
Thanks to strong infield defense so far this season, Nationals opponents have a .232 batting average on ground balls, sixth-best in the National League (MLB avg: .245)…In 2022, the Nationals had the third-highest opponents’ batting average on ground balls in Major League Baseball (.260).
• Washington has turned 15 double plays this season, tied for the most in Major League Baseball.
ROLLIN’ ROBLES
Victor Robles ranks in the National League in batting average (5th, .359) and on-base percentage (10th, .444).
• He is 12-for-29 (.414) with two doubles, four RBI, two walks, two stolen bases and four runs scored over his last nine games…He’s hit safely in six of the nine games with five multi-hit efforts.
• Robles has struck out just six times this season and his 12.8% strikeout rate ranks 12th in the NL.
BACK IN BLOOM
The Nationals popular cherry blossom-themed City Connect uniforms debuted last season and return in 2023 with on-field wear dates scheduled for every Friday and Saturday home game with the exception of Jackie Robinson Day on April 15.
• The City Connect design is a celebration of the beautiful gift of cherry blossom trees from the people of Japan to the city of Washington, D.C.
• Just as the cherry blossoms are sewn into the city’s culture, they are threaded into the uniforms themselves.
• The bold lettering across the chest echoes the District’s chiseled monuments and takes inspiration from the iconic W shape of the 1924 World Series champion Washington Senators.
OPPONENT
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS
The Nationals and Guardians will face off three times in 2023, all in D.C…Nationals outfielder Alex Call made his Major League debut for the Guardians in 2022 after spending four seasons (2019-22) in their system…Former National Josh Bell returns to Nationals Park for the second time since being traded to San Diego at the 2022 Trade Deadline
TODAY’S STARTER – #32 TREVOR WILLIAMS
Veteran right-handed starter signed a two-year contract with the Nationals in Dec. 2022…From 2018-21, Williams was exclusively a starter, but he transitioned to a versatile swingman in 2021 and 2022…He is 35-41 with a 4.33 ERA in 118 career starts and 3-3 with a 3.84 ERA in 41 relief outings…Was a second-round pick of the Miami Marlins in 2013 but was traded to Pittsburgh in 2015 while pitching in the Arizona Fall League.
LAST START
Earned his first win as a member of the Washington Nationals on April 8 at Colorado…Allowed two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and zero walks in 5.1 innings of work.
vs. CLEVELAND
Is 1-1 with a 0.90 ERA (1 ER/10.0 IP) in two career starts against Cleveland…Tossed his lone career shutout at Cleveland on July 23, 2018 with Pittsburgh…Allowed four hits with one strikeout and two walks in a rain-shortened 6.0 inning win.
2023 SPRING TRAINING
Went 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA in six Spring Training starts…Started the Exhibition game vs. New York (AL) on March 28.
• Allowed just one earned run on five hits in his final two starts of Spring Training (10.0 IP).
2022
In his second season with the Mets, went 3-5 with a 3.21 ERA in 30 games (nine starts)…Went 2-4 with a 4.19 ERA in nine starts and 1-1 with one save and a 2.47 ERA in 21 relief appearances…Tossed a career-high and team-best 25.1 consecutive scoreless innings from July 7 to Sept. 4…Was tied for the sixth-longest streak in MLB (4th in NL) in 2022… He went 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA in 13 games (three starts) against the NL East Recorded his first career save on July 14 at Chicago (NL), pitching the final three innings (3 H, 4 SO) of the 8-0 win…2022 Pitch Mix: 4-Seam Fastball (52.8%) Changeup (13.1%) Sinker (12.6%) Slider (11.7%) Curveball (9.7%).
2021
Began the season with the Cubs before being acquired along with shortstop Javier Báez…Posted a 3.06 ERA in 10 appearances (three starts) with the Mets… Did not surrender a home run in his first eight games with the Mets, becoming the ninth pitcher in franchise history to accomplish that feat (min. 20.0 IP).
2018
Put together the best season of his career, finishing seventh in the National League in ERA…Was the only pitcher to make 10 starts of at least 6.0 innings without allowing a run (Justin Verlander, 2nd with 9)…His 1.38 ERA after the All-Star break was second-lowest among all starting pitchers behind Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell (1.17)…Recorded a then-career-high 21.0 scoreless innings streak from July 11 to Aug. 5 and a 20.2 scoreless innings streak from Aug. 22 to Sept. 10…Was credited with his first career shutout in a rain-shortened 7-0 win at Cleveland on July 23 (6.0 IP).
2017
Made his first career Opening Day roster and took part in his first full Major League season…Ranked third among National League pitchers (min. 150.0 IP) with 0.84 HR/9.0 innings…Ranked first in ERA (4.07), fourth in innings (150.1) and fourth in strikeouts (117) among National League rookies with at least 100.0 innings…Threw a career-high 114 pitches in a career-high 8.0 scoreless innings on August 23 vs. Los Angeles (NL)…Faced off against Rich Hill, who took a perfect game into the ninth inning and lost his no-hit bid on Josh Harrison’s walk-off homer in the 10th inning.
2016
Made his Major League debut on Sept. 7 vs. St. Louis…Earned the win after allowing one run (unearned) in 3.0 innings of relief…Was the MVP of Triple-A Indianapolis after going 9-6 with a 2.53 ERA in 20 games (19 starts).
