CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
BIEBER TWIRLS A GEM. GUARDS WIN SERIES VS. HOU
The Cleveland Guardians finished off a 4-2 homestand against Boston (2-1) and Houston (2-1) with a 5-0 shutout of the Astros on Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field…marked the club’s sixth team shutout of 2023, T3rd-most in the AL with Seattle/Texas behind only Tampa Bay/Toronto (9 each)…also signaled the club’s fifth consecutive victory in a series finale, as Cleveland has won or split 5 consecutive series overall (4 series wins, one split).
SHANE BIEBER carved through 7.0 scoreless frames to record 9 strikeouts and his team-leading fifth victory (7.0IP, 3H, 0R, BB, 9SO, 104 pitches)…retired 7 straight and 9 of first 10 he faced to start the afternoon…lone extra-base hit allowed was a leadoff double by Yanier Diaz in the 5th, one of just two baserunners Bieber allowed to get into scoring position…TREVOR STEPHAN worked around a 2-out single to preserve the shutout in the 8th, while EMMANUEL CLASE fanned a pair in a 10-pitch 9th…JOSH BELL fell a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored… his solo homer in the 4th gave Cleveland a 3-0 advantage and was one of two round-trippers allowed by Astros starter Brandon Bielak (5.0IP, 9H, 5R-ER, 2BB, 4SO, 2HR, 87 pitches) – the other a 2-run shot by ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ, which followed Bell’s lead-off single in the 2nd inning…a pair of hits in the 5th by MYLES STRAW (lead-off single) and STEVEN KWAN (double) set up a run-scoring groundout by AMED ROSARIO…Bell also doubled to start the 6th and scored on TYLER FREEMAN’s subsequent two-sacker.
Cleveland (31-34) sits in 2nd place in AL Central standings, 1.5 games behind 1st-place Minnesota (33-33) & 3.0 games ahead of 3rd-place Chicago-AL (-4.5G, 29-38)…Guardians have won 6 of 8 and 9 of last 14, though have also dropped 28 of last 50 overall since starting the year 9-6…club is set to begin a 6-game road trip through San Diego and Arizona (3 games each) having won 2 straight and 4 of last 7 road contests.
YOU STAY CLASSY, SAN DIEGO
The Cleveland Guardians begin this 6-game road trip with a 3-game set with the San Diego Padres from Tuesday-Thursday, followed by 3 games in Phoenix over the weekend against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Guards are coming off a 6-game homestand, going 4-2 against the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros…the club’s offense was one of the best in baseball during that stretch, leading MLB in batting average (.317), hits (70), total bases (114), extra-base hits (29) and 2nd in MLB in OPS (.893) and RBI (37)…Cleveland has double-digit hits in 6 straight contests for the first time since April 30-May 4, 2018…the last time the club had 7 straight games of 10+ hits was from August 30 to September 5, 2017…the Clevelanders have not lost a series since May 22-24 against Chicago-AL, going 4-0-1 during that period.
Over the 6-game homestand, Progressive Field had a combined attendance of 155,580…marks the highest in a 6-game stretch of a 6-game-or-longer homestand since August 3-8, 2018 vs. Los Angeles-AL and Minnesota (163,066).
NO TOUCHING OF THE HAIR OR FACE. NOW FIGHT!
This is the eighth series and 20th overall matchup between Cleveland and San Diego, and just the third time the Guards have traveled to Petco Park…the Guardians are 12-7 all-time with a +24 run differential and have won 4 of the last 5 matchups between the two clubs…Cleveland’s last trip to Petco Park was from August 23-24, 2022, winning both affairs, 3-1 and 7-0…the club is 5-1 all-time at the ballpark…overall this season, the Clevelanders are 6-9 in Interleague play and have dropped 4 of their last 6 Interleague affairs.
Multiple players on the Guardians current roster are former members of San Diego’s organization…JOSH NAYLOR, GABRIEL ARIAS and CAL QUANTRILL were all sent to Cleveland in a trade that shipped Mike Clevinger to San Diego…JOSH BELL was acquired by San Diego at the 2022 trade deadline and hit .250 (9-for-36) with 2 home runs and 5 RBI in the club’s NLCS run… EMMANUEL CLASE and ENYEL DE LOS SANTOS were both former prospects in San Diego’s player development system.
I’M KIND OF A BIG DEAL. PEOPLE KNOW ME.
JOSH NAYLOR is riding a career-long 11-game hitting streak, including multiple hits in 5 of his last 6 games and 7 multi-hit efforts during the streak…it’s currently the longest hit streak in MLB…he’s slashing .488/.510/.721 with one home run and 16 RBI during this period…he has struck out just 3 times in 43 at-bats over this period, a 6.9% strikeout rate…he’s the first Cleveland hitter with 21-ormore hits over an 11-game stretch since STEVEN KWAN from September 19-30, 2022 (21)…his 24 RBI in the 7th-inning-or-later is tied for MLB lead with STL’s Nolan Gorman…he leads American League first baseman with 48 RBI and is 2nd in MLB behind NYM’s Pete Alonso…during this 11-game hit streak, Naylor’s .488 average, 7 doubles, 16 RBI, .510 OBP and 1.231 OPS all rank top 5 in MLB.
JOSH NAYLOR MLB RANKS SINCE MAY 30
AVG H 2B RBI OBP OPS
.488 (1st) 21 (2nd) 7 (1st) 16 (T1st) .510 (1st) 1.231 (4th)
Since May 29, WILL BRENNAN has a slash line of .417/.451/.667 with 6 doubles, 2 home runs and 8 RBI…he’s hit safely in 10 of those 12 contests and ranks T1st among all hitters with MLB batting average leader, Luis Arraez, for most multi-hit games (8) since May 29…among MLB hitters over this stretch, he ranks 2nd in the AL and 5th in MLB in average (.417, 20-for-48), 3rd in the AL and 7th in MLB in OPS (1.118) and T4th in AL and MLB in doubles (6)… he’s raised his average from .204 to .267 since May 28…ended a 14-inning affair against the Astros with his first career walk-off plate appearance on Friday night.
Over his past 4 games, JOSÉ RAMÍREZ has a slash line of .556/.619/1.333 with 4 home runs and 8 RBI…his 1.952 OPS leads MLB over that stretch…launched 3 home runs on Thursday night, the first 3-homer game by a Clevelander since Edwin Encarnación on May 2, 2018…the last Guardians player with 8-or-more RBI in a 4-game stretch was Bradley Zimmer from July 24-27, 2017 (8RBI).
BOY, THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY.
Since May 28, Cleveland’s offense leads MLB with 10 double-digit hit games, ahead of Texas’ 9…the club has 10+ hits in 6 straight games, 9 of its last 12 and 10 of its last 14 games…the Guardians offense leads MLB with 151 hits, 41 doubles and a .298 batting average since May 28…the last time Cleveland generated 150+ hits and 55+ extra-base hits over a 14-game span was from the second game of a doubleheader on August 30 to September 12, 2017.
CLEVELAND MLB RANKINGS, SINCE MAY 28
TEAM R H AVG RBI XBH
CLE 76 (5th) 151 (1st) .298 (1st) 73 (5th) 55 (3rd)
TONIGHT’S STARTER – #61 TANNER BIBEE RHP
BIBEE ON THE ROAD
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 0-0 3.86 3 3 16.1 17 7 7 5 14
Career 0-0 3.86 3 3 16.1 17 7 7 5 14
BIBEE’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 2-1 3.05 8 8 44.1 38 16 15 12 42
Career 2-1 3.05 8 8 44.1 38 16 15 12 42
TONIGHT’S START
The 24-year-old right-hander is making his ninth career start, fourth on the road, in the opening matchup of this 3-game set with the San Diego Padres…is making his first career MLB start in his home state of California…attended Mission Viejo High School, roughly 75 miles north of Petco Park, and attended Cal State Fullerton, roughly 100 miles north of Petco Park.
Marks his 4th career Interleague start, holding a 1-0 record with a 2.04 ERA (4ER/17.2IP), 20 strikeouts, and 5 walks…is his second start against the NL West, making his MLB debut vs. Colorado (5.2IP, 6H, 1R/ER, 0BB, 8SO) on April 26…is also seeking his first career road victory.
Bibee was originally selected by Cleveland in the 5th Round (156th overall) of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Cal State Fullerton… entered the 2023 season as Cleveland’s #5 prospect according to MLB.com…he is starting on extended 5 days’ rest; is 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA (9ER/27.2IP) in 5 starts on 5 days’ rest.
LAST TIME OUT
Bibee last toed the rubber in a 5-2 victory on June 7 at Progressive Field against the Boston Red Sox…he earned his second career MLB victory after allowing 2R/1ER on 4 hits over 5.0 innings with a pair of strikeouts and walks…faced trouble in the 1st after an Alex Verdugo leadoff walk, Masataka Yoshida single and Rafael Devers RBI-single put Boston ahead 1-0…pitched scoreless frames in the 2nd and 3rd before Kiké Hernández scored from a fielding error to give the Red Sox a 2-1 lead…retired the last 4 batters he faced.
DON’T ACT LIKE YOU’RE NOT IMPRESSED
Bibee is holding hitters to a .167 (11-for-66) average with 21 of his 42 strikeouts coming the first time through an opposing team’s lineup…his 11 hits allowed the first time through a lineup are T6th among MLB starting pitchers (min. 60 BF)…opposing clubs are hitting .246 (16-for-55) when facing the rookie a second time through the order and .324 (11-for-34) the third time through the order.
Among all MLB hurlers when pitching in innings 1 & 2 (min. 16.0IP), he ranks T1st with 2 runs allowed, 2nd with 7 hits allowed, 3rd with 3.94H/9, 3rd with a .130 opposing average, 3rd with a .204 SLG, 3rd with a .434 OPS, and 4th with a 1.13 ERA…Bibee is the only MLB pitcher to allow a combined 7-or-fewer hits and 2-orfewer runs in the 1st & 2nd innings this season.
HEY EVERYONE! COME AND SEE HOW GOOD I LOOK!
As of the end of his last start on June 7, Bibee has thrown 5.0+ innings with 3-or-fewer earned runs allowed in 7 of his first 8 career starts, becoming the 8th pitcher in franchise history to do so… LOGAN ALLEN accomplished the same feat four days before Bibee on June 3…he is also the 6th pitcher in club history to throw 5.0+ innings with 4-or-fewer hits in 4-or-more of a pitcher’s first 8 career starts, last done by Josh Tomlin in 2010.
Among rookie starting pitchers with 5-or-more starts, he ranks 1st in MLB in SLG (.327), 1st in the AL/2nd in MLB in ERA (2.84), 2nd in the AL/MLB in OPS (.620), 2nd in the AL/MLB in WHIP (1.13), 2nd in the AL/4th in MLB in opposing average (.230), 3rd in the AL/4th in MLB in OBP (.293) and 4th in the AL/MLB in SO/ BB (3.50).
On May 27, Bibee became the first Cleveland pitcher and 4th MLB pitcher in history to record multiple outings of 6.0+IP, 7+ strikeouts and 2-or-fewer-hits within the first 6 starts of a career, also done by Eric Gagné (1999), Freddy Peralta (2018) and Jordan Yamamoto (2019)…on April 26, after striking out 5 straight in the 2nd and 3rd innings, he became the first Cleveland pitcher since at least 1920 to strike out 5 straight hitters in their MLB debut… Bibee became the 2nd Cleveland pitcher with an 8+ strikeout, zero walk debut, last done by Floyd Weaver (W, 5.0IP, 3H, 1R/ER, 0BB, 8SO) on September 30, 1962 vs. Los Angeles-AL in G2 of a doubleheader
SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
Padres fail to sweep Rockies in Denver
- After winning the 1st 2 games of the 3-game series in Denver, the Padres fell 5-4 in a rain delayed 9th-inning via a walk off homer from Nolan Jones…the Padres led 3-1 going into the B-8th, and after the Rockies tied it at 3-3, the Padres scratched a go-ahead run in the 9th…in the B-9th, Ryan McMahon homered off Tom Cosgrove to tie the game at 4-4, and then the clubs had a 1 hour and 25 minute rain delay…with 2 outs in the 9th, Brent Honeywell allowed the decisive homer to Jones.
- Blake Snell turned in his best outing this season, tossing a season-high 7.0 innings with 1 run allowed on 3 hits with 12 punchouts (1 short of his career high of 13)…he didn’t allow a single walk after allowing 10 overall between his prior 3 starts.
- The Friars have won 4 of their last 6 games, but with the Padres failing to sweep the Rockies, 2023 is the 1st time since ’18 that the Friars went this deep into a season without any sweeps of 3+ games (had no sweeps of 3+ games at all in 2018)…per Elias.
Joe Musgrove has allowed 2 ER in his last 3 starts, has highest chase rate in MLB
- Starter Joe Musgrove gets the start tonight for his 1st since last Tuesday (June 6 vs. Seattle)…in his last 3 starts, he’s allowed just 2 earned runs for a 1.04 ERA (2 ER, 17.1 IP) with a .206 opponent clip… Musgrove’s chase rate of 34.1% is the highest in all of baseball this year among pitchers who’ve made at least 6 starts.
Back at Petco
- After splitting their last 2 series played at Petco Park (1-1 vs. Seattle and 2-2 vs. the Cubs), the Padres are in search for their 1st series win at home since May 1-3 vs. the Reds…not including the 2 “home games” in Mexico City against the Giants, the Padres have a 13-18 record at Petco this year…their .419 winning percentage in San Diego is the 5th-lowest of any team in baseball, ahead of just the Cardinals (.406), Nationals (.364), Royals (.273), and A’s (.250). Friars walk it out
- Padres batters drew 5 walks in each of their last 2 contests against the Rockies in Denver, their 26th and 27th such games of the season…those 27 games with 5-or-more walks drawn in a game rank 2nd in the Majors behind just the Dodgers (30 such games)…in those games, the Padres are 17-10 (.630)… SD’s 266 BB overall are 2nd in MLB to the Dodgers’ 277, and Juan Soto’s 56 BB headline the Majors.
Battle of the ‘pens
- San Diego’s bullpen has the lowest WHIP of any team in baseball this year at 1.16…the Guardians bullpen, however, rank 2nd to the Padres, with a 1.17 WHIP… the Padre ‘pen’s .219 opponent average is 3rd in baseball, ranking just behind the Guardians’ .218 clip and the Yankees’ .209.
- San Diego’s ‘pen has a 3.37 so far this year, ranking 6th in MLB…since May 1st, the Friar ‘pen has a 2.51 ERA, 2nd in MLB to just the Giants’ 2.49 ERA.
Fernando Tatis Jr. has 9 XBH and 31 total bases in 10 June games
- Fernando Tatis Jr. enters tonight with multiple hits in 3 straight games, tying his season-high streak (his career-long multi-hit streak is 6 games from May 8-23, 2021)…in his 10 games in the month of June so far, he has 6 multi-hit efforts, 9 extra-base hits, and 13 RBI…his 9 XBH are 3rd in June to only ARI’s Corbin Carroll and LAA’s Shohei Ohtani (10 XBH each).
- Tatis has 5 outfield assists this year, and since his 1st game returning from the restricted list on April 20, his 5 assists lead the NL and rank 2nd in the Majors among outfielders to just TEX Adolis Garcia’s 6.
STARTER – JOE MUSGROVE #44
Musgrove set for 4th career start vs. Cleveland
30-year-old right-hander Joe Musgrove is slated for his 4th career start vs. the Guardians, and his first as a Padre…he made 3 starts vs. CLE across the 2017-20 seasons, including 2 consecutive quality starts at Progressive Field in ’18 and ’20.
Musgrove throws season-high 102 pitches in loss to SEA
Musgrove allowed 1 run-or-fewer for the 4th time this season and the third time in a row in his last outing last Tuesday vs. SEA behind a season-high 102 pitches in SD’s 4-1 defeat…it was the most pitches he’s thrown since his penultimate regular season outing last season on Sept. 28, 2022 vs. LAD…it was the 28th time Musgrove has thrown 100+ pitches, and when he reaches the 100+ pitch plateau, he is 13-7 and his teams are 18-10.
Musgrove earns 2 wins in 3-city road trip
Musgrove earned the win in both of his 2 outings on the Padres’ 3 city road trip through WSH, NYY and MIA…on Fri @ Yankee Stadium, Musgrove posted his 16th career start allowing 0 home runs and 0 walks in the same start, and when he does so, he is now 11-1 (.917 winning %) and his teams are 13-3…he followed up his Yankee Stadium start with 6.0 innings of 3-hit ball, allowing just 1 unearned run in SD’s 10-1 win…he received all 10 runs of support in SD’s 10-1 victory, which were tied for the most runs of support he’s ever received (August 31, 2019 @ COL w/ PIT).
Musgrove’s chase rate tops all NL hurlers
Musgrove has allowed just 2 ER across his last 3 starts, and that’s due in large part to his 34.1 chase % this season, which is the most among all NL hurlers who have made at least 6 starts…it’s ahead of ARI’s Merrill Kelly (33.7%) and Tommy Henry (33.4%), ATL’s Spencer Strider (33.3%) and LAD’s Clayton Kershaw (33.1%)…chase rate is inducing swings on pitches that otherwise would have been called a ball.
Petco Park’s finest
He’s made 34 road app. (33 starts) since joining SD compared to his 35 home app (all starts)…on the road, he is 15-9 with a 3.22 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and .223 AVG…he is 1 of 13 pitchers who have made at least 35 career starts in Petco history (including Postseason), and Joe ranks 3rd in ERA (2.85), trailing only Andrew Cashner (2.76) and Jake Peavy (2.80)…his 1.12 WHIP ranks T-3rd with Chris Young in downtown SD history, trailing only Yu Darvish (0.94), Peavy (1.09)…his .223 opp. AVG ranks 6th.
Breaking bad
Yu Darvish (2,760 rpm) and Joe Musgrove (2,724 rpm) have the 2nd and 3rd-highest spin rates on breaking balls, respectively, among all NL pitchers since the start of last season (min. 1,250 pitches)…they trail only ATL’s Charlie Morton (3,071 rpm).
Four-Seam Spin
Since the start of last season, Musgrove has relied on his 4-seamer 25.3 % of the time with 2,567 rpm…it’s the 4th-highest spin rate of all ML 4-seamers, trailing only STL’s Ryan Helsley (2,648 rpm), CIN’s Alexis Diaz (2,641 rpm) and STL’s Chris Stratton (2,607)..Musgrove is averaging 2,590 rpm in his 212 4-seam throws so far this year, ranking in the 98th percentile.
