CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
GUARDS LOSE FIRST CONTEST IN EXTRAS
The Guardians shouldered their first extra-inning loss of the year (4-1) on Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park, falling to the Boston Red Sox by an 8-7 margin in 10 frames…battled back from a 6-1 deficit and briefly took a 7-6 lead in the top of the 10th before surrendering a pair of runs in the bottom half of the same frame… Guardians will look to win their 4th straight series finale today (6-2 record in finales overall), but are seeking first series victory overall since April 14-16 at Washington.
The Red Sox offense brought heavy pressure early, as Rafael Devers cranked a 3-run homer off ZACH PLESAC in the 1st inning, while Boston added 2 more tallies on 4 consecutive hits in the 4th to chase the Guardians right-hander before the end of the frame (3.1IP, 8H, 5R-ER, BB, SO, HR, 57 pitches)…JOSH BELL and ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ hit a pair of solo homers in the 2nd and 7th innings, respectively – the latter blast giving way to a 4-run rally capped by JOSH NAYLOR’s bases-clearing 3-run double to pull Cleveland to within 6-5…RBI-singles by JOSÉ RAMÍREZ in the 9th and MIKE ZUNINO in the 10th provided optimism before Boston stamped out the comeback attempt with a pair of RBI-singles of their own off EMMANUEL CLASE, as Christian Arroyo tied the contest ahead of Alex Verdugo’s game-ender…Guardians offense pounded out 14 hits, including 3 each from STEVEN KWAN, Naylor and Ramírez.
The Clevelanders are 9-6 on the road, but have still dropped 8 of their last 12 overall following a 9-6 start to the season…Guardians (13-14) hold sole possession of 2nd place in AL Central standings, 2.5 games behind Minnesota (16-12).
7-8-9 ARE DOING JUST FINE
The Guardians got a solid boost from its bottom three hitters in Saturday afternoon’s matchup as the trio of ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ, MIKE ZUNINO and MYLES STRAW combined to go 4-for-13 with a home run, 2 RBI, 3 runs and one stolen base…Cleveland has seen consistent production this season from their 7-8-9 hitters who rank highly in a number of categories through 27 games, hitting .247 (5th in the AL, 10th in MLB) with 5 home runs, 30 RBI and 37 runs…the Guards 7-8-9 tandem currently leads MLB with a .346 OBP, ahead of Oakland (.344) and Baltimore (.343)…they rank 1st in the AL and 2nd in MLB with 36 walks behind Los Angeles-NL (38)…the club’s 19 doubles from its bottom 3 hitters rank T3rd in MLB/T1st in AL with Boston and Tampa Bay, trailing Arizona (21).
Straw leads MLB with 23 hits by a 7-8-9 hitter, ahead of former Clevelander Gio Urshela (22)…among batters in the 9th spot, he ranks T1st in steals with New York-AL’s Anthony Volpe (6), 2nd in OBP (.382), 2nd in walks (10) and 5th in hits (15).
Giménez hit a home run out of the 7th spot, marking the second straight game that Cleveland’s 7-hitter has gone yard after Zunino did it on Friday…his 11 hits out of the 7 spot rank T5th in MLB/ T3rd in the AL…among batters with at least 30 plate appearances batting 7th, he ranks T4th in MLB/1st in the AL with a .333 batting average…his .606 slugging percentage trails only MIN’s Joey Gallo (.939) for highest among MLB 7-hitters.
TYPICAL TITO TEAM
Since TERRY FRANCONA was hired as the 42nd manager in franchise history in 2013, Cleveland has ranked highly among both MLB and AL clubs in numerous categories…looking at team rankings through nearly one month of the 2023 season, there are many categories that Cleveland continues to pace MLB in, especially with patient and selective hitting and team speed.
This season, Cleveland ranks 2nd in MLB in swing-and-miss percentage, whiffing on just 22.5% of their swings…since 2013, their 22.3% swing-and-miss percentage leads all of MLB, with Boston behind them at 23.1%…the Guards rank 1st in the AL/2nd in MLB this season with just 203 strikeouts and 5.13 plate appearances-per-strikeout…since 2013, Cleveland ranks 2nd in MLB with 11,778 strikeouts and 4.98 PA/K…the Guardians 103 walks rank 2nd in the AL/6th in MLB, and they rank 2nd in the AL/8th in MLB with 10.11 plate-appearances-per-walk…under Francona’s leadership for the last 11 seasons, Cleveland ranks 3rd in AL/6th in MLB in walks (5,096) and 2nd in AL/5th in MLB in plate-appearances-per-walk (11.51).
RING THE BELL
JOSH BELL knocked in another run with his third homer of the season in yesterday’s contest…with a two-bagger on Friday, he ranks T5th in the AL and T8th in MLB in doubles (JOSÉ RAMÍREZ also has 9)…all 9 of his doubles have come in the past 16 games, marking the 3rd season in his career that Bell has 9 doubles over a 16-game span and the first time since June 28 to July 15 of last season while he was with Washington…the Guards 52 doubles in March/April is 5th-most in franchise history to start a season, and the most since 2006 when the club had 59 in March/April.
After going 3-for-38 to start the season, the switch-hitter is slashing .300/.364/.600 with 9 doubles, 3 home runs and 10 RBI since April 11, hitting safely in 13 of 16 games during that stretch… Bell is one of 6 MLB hitters and the only AL hitter this season with 12-or-more extra-base hits and 21-or-fewer base hits…his 15 walks are 3rd on the team behind Ramírez (16) and STEVEN KWAN (17).
OUR BRAND OF BASEBALL
The Guardians 35 stolen bases, rank 1st in the AL and 2nd in MLB behind Pittsburgh (39)…the last time the Guards stole 35-ormore bases through the team’s first 27 games of a season was 1984 when the club swiped 41 bags…Cleveland’s 12 multi-steal games in 2023 are tied with Pittsburgh for the MLB lead…5 different players have 5+ stolen bases for the team this season (ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ, STEVEN KWAN, JOSÉ RAMÍREZ, AMED ROSARIO and MYLES STRAW), no other team has more than 3 players with 5+ swipes.
Cleveland has 11 sacrifice flies on the season ranking 2nd in the AL and T3rd in MLB with Arizona behind Pittsburgh (16) and Baltimore (12)…since the start of 2019, Cleveland’s 161 sac flies rank 2nd in the AL and 3rd in MLB behind Los Angeles-NL (165) and Houston (173)…JOSÉ RAMÍREZ (23) is T5th in MLB during that stretch.
Cleveland is pacing MLB with 339 infield hits since the start of 2021, 11 ahead of Tampa Bay (328)…AMED ROSARIO (57) is 2nd and MYLES STRAW (48) is T3rd in MLB over that period…Straw is T5th in MLB/T2nd in the AL with 6 infield hits, trailing NYM’s Jeff McNeil (8) and PIT’s Ji Hwan Bae (9)
TODAY’S STARTER – 41 LOGAN ALLEN LHP
ALLEN ON THE ROAD, MiLB
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 0-0 1.86 2 2 9.2 9 2 2 4 15
Career 6-2 3.61 27 26 132.0 116 55 53 37 181
ALLEN’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-0 1.50 1 1 6.0 5 1 1 1 8
Career 1-0 1.50 1 1 6.0 5 1 1 1 8
TODAY’S START
The 24-year-old left-hander is making his second career start, first on the road, in the final matchup of this 3-game set with the Boston Red Sox…he became the third Guardian to make their Major League debut after PEYTON BATTENFIELD on April 12 against New York-AL and TIM HERRIN on April 2 against Seattle…BRAYAN ROCCHIO was called up on April 19, but did not make his debut…Allen was originally selected by Cleveland in the 2nd Round (56th overall) of the 2020 MLB Draft out of Florida International University…entered the season as Cleveland’s #8 prospect according to MLB.com…through 3 starts at AAA Columbus, he has a 1.26 ERA (2ER/14.1IP)…he is starting on extended six days of rest.
LAST TIME OUT
He earned the win in his Major League Debut in a 7-4 victory against the Marlins…the left-hander struck out his first two batters faced, finishing the day with 8 punchouts, the 4th-most in Cleveland franchise history for a Major League debut and the most by a Guardians pitcher in any start this season at the time (TANNER BIBEE, 8SO, 4/26)…his only blemish on the day came on a solo shot by Jon Berti in the third frame…became the third pitcher in franchise history to throw 6.0-or-more innings, record 8-or-more strikeouts and hold an opponent to one-or-zero runs in an MLB debut, the first since TRISTON MCKENZIE on August 22, 2020…Luis Tiant first accomplished the feat on July 19, 1964, in a complete game shutout. ROAD TO THE SHOW
The left-hander struck out 73 batters in 59.2 innings at AAA (11.0SO/9), finishing the 2022 season with a 12.0 SO/9 (177SO/132.2IP)…made 3 starts at AAA of at least 5.0 innings with 0 ER allowed, including his final start of the season on September 27 vs. Indianapolis (5.0IP, 1H, 1R/0ER, 2BB, 6SO).
MONTH BY MONTH
Owns a 1.77 ERA (7ER/35.2IP) in April, his best of any month… across 7 April starts in his career he has 50 strikeouts, 13 walks and a .188 opposing batting average (24-for-128)…opposing batters have never hit above .267 against him in any month.
ALLEN SPLITS BY MONTH, MiLB CAREER
Month ERA G/GS IP ER
April 1.77 7/7 35.2 7
May 3.59 9/9 47.2 19
June 3.06 9/9 50.0 17
July 4.15 8/7 34.2 16
August 3.40 10/10 50.1 19
September 4.95 8/7 40.0 22
LIMITING LEFTIES
During his time in the Minor Leagues, left-handed batters had trouble with Allen, hitting .188 (53-for-282) with 7 home runs, 16 RBI and 109 strikeouts across his 51G/49GS…through his first 3 starts at AAA this season, lefties were 3-for-25 against him (.120)… conversely, right-handed hitters were .230 (156-for-677) with 231 strikeouts against him in his career….lefties went 0-for-2 against him in his debut.
BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
ITS A WALK-OFF: The Red Sox defeated the Guardians yesterday, 8-7, on a walk-off RBI single by Alex Verdugo in the 10th inning. Yesterday was the Sox’ 3rd walk-off win of the season, tied with BAL and DET for most in MLB (also 4/1 vs. BAL and 4/18 vs. MIN). The Sox joined MIL and TOR as the only teams with multiple extra-inning wins and 0 losses in extras.
COMEBACK KIDS: The Red Sox yesterday earned their MLB-leading 10th come-from-behind win…They trailed 7-6 entering the bottom of the 10th inning before Christian Arroyo led off the frame with a game-tying RBI single. The Red Sox trailed by multiple runs in 5 of their 10 comeback wins, including by 4 runs on 4/15 vs. LAA and by 6 runs on 4/1 vs. BAL. The Sox have won 4 games in which they trailed after 7 innings, already matching their 2023 total (4-64).
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox are 9-6 in their last 15 games, dating back to 4/14, tied for the 4th-best record in the AL during that span.
With a win today, the Red Sox would secure 15+ wins before May for the 7th time in the last 20 seasons… They made the Postseason in each of the previous 6 instances, including each of their last 4 World Series championship seasons (2021, ‘18, ‘13, ‘08, ‘07, ‘04).
RED SOX THROUGH 28 GAMES
Stat 2022 2023
W-L 10-18 14-14
Runs scored 93 156
Home runs 16 35
AVG .226 .257
OPS .621 .762
Walks 64 97
SERIES BUSINESS: With a win today, the Red Sox would improve to 6-3-0 in series play, including 4-1-0 at home. Last season, the Sox went 1-7-1 in their first 9 series and did not earn their 6th series win until 6/5 (began 5-8-3).
SLUGGING SOX: The Red Sox rank 3rd in MLB in runs scored (156)…In their last 15 games (beginning 4/14), they have averaged 5.7 runs per game with a .790 OPS. The Red Sox have hit 3 grand slams, tied with the Dodgers for most in MLB.
RED SOX OFFENSIVE RANKINGS
Stat AL Rank
156 R 3rd
35 HR 4th
95 XBH 2nd
20.1 SO% 2nd
Stat AL Rank
.257 AVG 2nd
.331 OBP 5th
.431 SLG 3rd
.762 OPS 3rd
HOME COOKING: The Red Sox are 6-3 over their last 9 home games, winning each of their last 2 home series (3-1 vs. LAA, 2-1 vs. MIN, 1-1 vs. CLE). The Sox have scored 85 runs on 143 hits (53 XBH) in their 15 home games…Their 9.5 hits/game rank 3rd in MLB, while their 5.7 runs/game and 3.5 XBH/game at home rank 4th. At home, the Sox lead the AL in AVG (.273), rank 3rd in OBP (.344), and rank 4th in SLG (.439) and OPS (.783).
SOX & GUARDIANS: The Red Sox are 6-3 against the Guardians since the start of 2022, and 10-4 since the start of 2021. Alex Cora is 1 of 7 current MLB managers to have played for Terry Francona during his 8-year stint as manager of the Red Sox from 2004-11: Alex Cora (2005-08), Rocco Baldelli (2009), Kevin Cash (2010), Gabe Kapler (2003-06), Mark Kotsay (2008-09), Dave Roberts (2004), and David Ross (2008).
VERDUGOREDSOX: Alex Verdugo’s walk-off single yesterday was his 7th career walk-off RBI. He is the only player with multiple walk-off RBI in 2023. Verdugo has 5 walk-off RBI since the start of 2021, tied for 4th most in MLB and 2nd most in the AL during that span (Aaron Judge-6).
MACHO MAN: Masataka Yoshida’s 9-game hitting streak enters today as the 2nd-longest active streak in MLB, trailing only TEX’s Robbie Grossman (10). During his streak, Yoshida is batting .417 with a 1.172 OPS, 6 runs, and 10 RBI (15-for-36, 2 2B, 3 HR, 3 BB, SF). In his first 22 career games, Yoshida has hit from the 4th spot in the lineup 18 times, the 2nd spot twice, and the 6th spot twice.
ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD: The Red Sox’ outfielders lead MLB in AVG (.305), hits (101), XBH (42), and RBI (tied, 64). The Sox’ outfielders rank 2nd in MLB in OBP (.372), SLG (.517), and OPS (.889).
RED SOX’ OUTFIELD RANKINGS
Stat 2022 (MLB Rank) 2023 (MLB Rank)
AVG .243 (16th) .305 (1st)
OBP .301 (24th) .372 (2nd)
SLG .375 (22nd) .517 (2nd)
OPS .676 (24th) .889 (2nd)
H 453 (7th) 101 (1st)
XBH 163 (T-8th) 42 (1st)
HR 39 (26th) 13 (T-8th)
RBI 218 (13th) 64 (T-1st)
FOREVER AND DEVERS: Rafael Devers hit his AL-leading 10th HR of the season yesterday, tying David Ortiz (2006) and Hanley Ramirez (2015) for most in Red Sox history before May. Devers is the 3rd player since 2000 to record 27+ RBI for the Sox before May, joining Manny Ramirez (21 in 2001) and Mike Napoli (27 in 2013).
DEVERS’ AMERICAN LEAGUE RANKINGS
Stat AL
10 HR ……………………1st
27 RBI…………………… T-3rd
46 hard-hit balls……..T-2nd
Stat AL
17 XBH……………………..T-2nd
63 total bases……….. T-1st
.578 SLG …………………….. 5th
CLOSING TIME: The Red Sox have a 2.57 ERA in the 8th and 9th innings (14 ER/49.0 IP)…The Sox have out-scored opponents in those innings, 32-16. Boston’s 1.29 ERA in the 8th inning (4 ER/28.0 IP) is tied with TB for the best in MLB. The Sox are 10-0 when leading after 6 innings. The Red Sox yesterday suffered their first blown save of the season…They entered yesterday as the only team in MLB without a blown save.
MOST SAVES IN MLB HISTORY
Rk. Pitcher SV
- Mariano Rivera …..652
- Trevor Hoffman …..601
- Lee Smith …………..478
- Francisco Rodriguez..437
Rk. Pitcher SV - John Franco………..424
- Billy Wagner……….422
T7. Kenley Jansen .. 397
Craig Kimbrel ……..397
DON’T START WITH US: Starting pitchers have lasted fewer than 4.0 innings in 9 starts vs. BOS this season…No \other team has eliminated the starting pitcher before they reached 4.0 innings more than 5 times. Starting pitchers have completed at least 6.0 innings against the Red Sox just 4 times this season, fewest of any team in MLB. The Red Sox faced a left-handed starting pitcher in 8 of their 9 games from 4/8-6…Since then, they have faced right-handed starters in 11 of their last 12 games. CLOSE SHAVES: 20 of the Sox’ 28 games have been decided by 3 runs or fewer (10-10)…The only teams with more such games are CLE (22), and LAA (21).
TODAY’S STARTER: 41 CHRIS SALE – LHP
In 31 career outings vs. CLE (20 starts), is 5-8 with a 4.76 ERA (68 ER/128.2 IP). Allowed 5 runs over 5.0 IP Monday at BAL (9 H, BB)…Did not strike out a batter for the 1st time in his career (min. 2.0 IP). Owns a career 3.31 ERA (104 ER/283.0 IP) in 51 games (48 starts) at Fenway Park. Opponents are 6-for-26 (.231) with 17 SO this season in at-bats ending with his slider and 5-for-23 (.217) with 4 SO against his changeup. Has averaged 11.10 SO/9.0 IP (2,094 SO/1,701.0 IP) in his career, the highest rate in the Live Ball Era (min. 1,000 IP).
