CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
GUARDS DROP OPENER AT WRIGLEY
The Cleveland Guardians got knocked around in the opener of a 3-game weekend set at Wrigley Field, falling to the Chicago Cubs by a 10-1 margin on Friday afternoon…coming off a 4-2 homestand, the Guardians are 2-2 on current 6-game road trip thru Kansas City (2-1) & Chicago-NL (0-1, two-to-play)…with a series victory over KC, the Guards are 6-3-1 over their last 10 series.
Justin Steele cruised to his ninth victory of the season, pitching into the 7th inning for the Cubs (6.1IP, 3H, 0R, BB, 6SO, HB, 96 pitches)…scattered just 3 singles on the afternoon, as Cleveland was held to 5 hits total – just 2 for extra-bases…AMED ROSARIO doubled with 2 outs in the 8th and WILL BRENNAN snuck in the Guardians lone tally of the contest with a one-out solo homer off Michael Rucker in the 9th…the Cubs staged multi-run rallies in the 3rd (2), 4th (4) and 6th (3) innings, ending CAL QUANTRILL’s first outing in a month after 74 pitches (3.1IP, 8H, 6R-ER, 2BB, SO)… the top 3 hitters in Chicago-NL’s lineup combined to drive in 6 of the club’s runs, going 5-for-12 with 3 runs scored…Nick Madrigal and Chris Morel both homered in the 6th…DAVID FRY was pulled from left field to pitch the 8th inning, retiring all 3 batters he faced.
Cleveland (39-42) sits in 2nd place in the AL Central standings, 1.0-game behind 1st-place Minnesota (41-42) and 4.0 games ahead of 3rd-place Detroit (35-46)…Guardians have won 7 of 11, 14 of 24 and 17 of last 30, though have also dropped 36 of last 66 overall since starting the year 9-6.
JUMPING IN JUNE
The Guardians finished June with a 14-12 record, the club’s best monthly record out of the first three months of the 2023 campaign… the offense had its best month of the season, leading the American League in batting average (.279) with 21 home runs, 114 RBI and 4.69 runs per game…the club ended the month with 257 hits, 2nd in the AL behind Texas (264) and 3rd in MLB…out of 26 games played, the Guards had 15 games with double-digit hits…Cleveland had just 12 10+ hit efforts prior to June.
CLEVELAND OFFENSIVE SPLITS BY MONTH, 2023
MONTH G AVG H OPS HR R/GM
April 26 .231 203 .669 17 3.81
May 27 .233 206 .641 16 3.41
June 26 .279 257 .758 21 4.69
The pitching staff had a 3.76 ERA (98ER/234.2IP) in June with a monthly-high of 218 strikeouts while holding opposing batters to a .229 batting average, its best mark of any month this season… the starting staff ended with a 4.19 ERA (63ER/135.1IP) with 129 strikeouts and 60 walks…the rotation allowed a monthly-low of 8.18
H/9 and a .239 opposing batting average with a monthly-high of 8.6 SO/9…SHANE BIEBER highlighted the rotation, boasting a 2.90 ERA (10ER/31.0IP) with 32 strikeouts, 7 walks and a .191 opposing batting average across 5 starts…the bullpen finished the month with a 3.17 ERA (35ER/99.1IP), 3rd in the AL and 6th in MLB, and a .214 opposing batting average, good for 4th in the American League and 6th in MLB…EMMANUEL CLASE led the pen with a 0.77 ERA, allowing one earned run over 11.2 IP.
CLEVELAND PITCHING SPLITS BY MONTH, 2023
MONTH ERA IP ER SO BB OPP AVG H/9
April 4.07 236.2 107 197 78 .257 10.01
May 3.65 239.0 97 201 72 .243 8.83
June 3.76 234.2 98 218 96 .229 8.18
RUMBLE, YOUNG MAN, RUMBLE
During the 2023 season, the Guardians have relied on rookie arms in both their starting rotation and bullpen…the Guards are one of 2 MLB teams (also Oakland) to have 5 different rookies throw 30.0+ innings this season; LOGAN ALLEN (62.1IP), TANNER BIBEE (59.1IP), XZAVION CURRY (42.2IP), PEYTON BATTENFIELD (34.2IP) and HUNTER GADDIS (31.1IP)…36.25% of Cleveland’s innings pitched this season (263.2IP/727.0IP) have come via rookies, the 2nd-highest rate in MLB behind Oakland (39.74%)… the Guards have used 9 different rookie arms this season, only trailing Cincinnati (11) for most in MLB…the Guards rookies lead MLB with 12 wins this season…Bibee’s outing today will mark the Guardians 38th start by a rookie arm in 2023, 2nd-most in MLB behind Oakland (43)…the Guards 229 strikeouts from rookies this season trails just Oakland (268)…Cleveland’s rookies also rank 3rd in MLB with 20 games finished…as a team, Cleveland possesses the youngest average age of pitchers (26.2) among MLB clubs this season, ahead of Miami (27.2).
KINGS STAY KINGS
JOSÉ RAMÍREZ finished June with a slashline .330/.400/.630 with 7 home runs and 23 RBI…he hit safely in 19 of 25 games last month, including 10 multi-hit games (four 3-hit games)…he contributed a 3-homer and 5-RBI performance on June 8 against Boston along with another 5-RBI effort on June 28 at Kansas City…his .330 average was his highest monthly batting average since April 2022 (.342)…he finished the month with 23 RBI and 12 strikeouts…of the last six instances that a player has finished a month with 23+ RBI and 12-or-fewer strikeouts, Ramírez has done it four times (June 2023, May 2022, April 2022, September 2020)…the other 2 instances were SD’s Juan Soto (September 2021) and LAD’s Max Muncy (July 2021)…in 2023, he leads primary third basemen in hits (89), total bases (157), batting average (.295) and OPS (.885), and is T1st with WSH’s Jeimer Candelario in extrabase hits (38).
NO WHIFF ZONE!
The Guardians have struck out 578 times in 2023, 2nd-lowest in MLB behind Washington (573), and own a 18.9% strikeout rate… the club has had 5-or-fewer strikeouts in 23 games this season, leading MLB ahead of Washington (22)…Cleveland is 1st in the AL and 3rd in MLB, behind Washington (21.7%) and Arizona (21.5%),
with a 22.5% swing and miss rate..the Guards are the only club to have 3 players ranking in the top-15 for lowest swing and miss rate with STEVEN KWAN (3rd, 11.4%), MYLES STRAW (6th, 13.9%) and JOSÉ RAMÍREZ (12th, 15.6%)…Kwan is also 2nd in MLB behind BAL’s Adley Rutschman (8.3%) with a 9.4% first-pitch swing rate…since debuting in 2022, he leads MLB with a 9.1% first-pitch swing rate and ranks 2nd in MLB behind MIA’s Luis Arraez (7.2%) with a 9.9% swing and miss rate.
TONIGHT’S STARTER – 61 TANNER BIBEE RHP
BIBEE ON THE ROAD
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-1 5.68 5 5 25.1 32 16 16 10 23
Career 1-1 5.68 5 5 25.1 32 16 16 10 23
BIBEE’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 4-2 3.79 11 11 59.1 56 27 25 21 58
Career 4-2 3.79 11 11 59.1 56 27 25 21 58
TONIGHT’S START
The 24-year-old right-hander is making his 12th career start, sixth on the road, in the second matchup of this 3-game set with the Chicago Cubs…marks his seventh career and fourth straight Interleague start, holding a 3-1 record with a 3.86 ERA (14ER/33.2IP), 36 strikeouts, and 14 walks…is the first starting pitcher in MLB history to make 7 Interleague starts within his first 12 career starts, no other pitcher has more than 5.
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 6 days’ rest; is 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA (3ER/11.2IP) in 2 career starts on 6 days’ rest.
LAST TIME OUT
In his last outing, Bibee earned the fourth victory of his career and his third win in his last 4 outings…he produced the fourth quality start of his career and tied a career-high with 105 pitches for the second straight start…in 6.0 innings of work, he allowed 3 hits and 2 runs (one earned) with 4 walks and 7 strikeouts…after Christian Yelich led off with an infield single, he advanced on a wild pitch and scored off a fielding error…Bibee’s first 5 outs recorded were all strikeouts before a fly out to end the 2nd inning…following a Yelich walk and stolen base, William Contreras hit an RBI-single to put the Brewers ahead 2-0 in the 3rd…following a 1-2-3 4th, Luis Urías singled to lead off the 5th, but Bibee recorded his second career pickoff to erase the leadoff hit…Bibee struck out the final 2 hitters in the 6th to conclude his outing.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
Bibee is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA (2ER/12.0IP) in his previous 2 career starts against the NL Central…his NL Central outings on May 27 vs. St. Louis (6.0IP, 2H, 1R/ER, 1BB, 9SO) and June 24 vs. Milwaukee (6.0IP, 3H, 2R/1ER, 4BB, 7SO) both resulted in quality starts…Bibee ranks among MLB pitchers (min. 2GS) against NL Central teams this season in opponent batting average (.122, 3rd), slugging percentage (.195, 4th), OPS (.413, 4th) and BABIP (.167, 5th).
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Bibee ranks among MLB rookie starting pitchers (min. 45.0IP) in win percentage (.667, T2nd), home runs (6, T4th), batting average (.247, 6th), slugging percentage (.374, 6th) and FIP (3.81, 6th).
In his last start, Bibee became the second Cleveland pitcher (Herb Score, 1955) and 15th pitcher in MLB history with 3 outings of 6.0+IP, 7+ strikeouts and 3-or-fewer hits within the first 11 starts of a career…on May 27 vs. St. Louis, he 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.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Bibee is holding hitters to a .180 average (16-for-89) with 31 of his 58 strikeouts coming the first time through an opposing team’s lineup…opposing clubs are hitting .267 (24-for-90) when facing the rookie a second time through the order and .333 (16-for-48) the third time through the order.
CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:
Cubs vs. Guardians
The Cubs and Guardians square off against each other for the first time since 2021 this weekend … Cleveland took the four-game series in 2021, 3-1, sweeping a two-game set in Cleveland and splitting two games at Wrigley Field … this three-game set marks the only time the clubs will see each other in 2023.
HELLO, JULY!: The Chicago Cubs yesterday snapped a four-game losing streak by defeating the Cleveland Guardians, 10-1 … Christopher Morel and Nick Madrigal both homered, while Nico Hoerner’s three hits and two RBI and Jared Young’s two hits and two RBI paced the Cubs offense … Justin Steele earned his ninth win of the campaign (0 ER/6.1 IP), making his third start of at least 6.0 scoreless innings in 2023.
This is the fifth contest (1-3) of 13-straight gamedays leading into the All-Star break … the Cubs host Cleveland for two more games, before the team departs on a seven-game trip with four games at the Brewers and three at the Yankees.
The Cubs are 12-6 in their last 18 games since June 9 and find themselves 5.0-games back of the N.L. Central Division-leading Reds (44-38) … Chicago was 7.5-games back following June 8’s loss at the Angels.
Chicago is four-games over .500 (16-12) in its last 28 games starting May 29.
The Cubs are the only N.L. Central Division club with a positive run differential (+32) … Pittsburgh and St. Louis are at -31, Milwaukee -22 and Cincinnati -14.
Cubs hitters have coaxed at least one walk in each of the team’s last 56 games since April 28 … the last time Chicago had a longer such streak was a 106- game run that spanned from July 22, 2019-Sept. 8, 2020.
THE STRO-SHOW RETURNS TO WRIGLEY: Today’s starting pitcher, Marcus Stroman, aims to join Shane McClanahan (11), Clayton Kershaw (10) and Zac Gallen (10) as the lone pitchers in the major leauges with at least 10 wins … Stroman’s 2.47 ERA (28 ER/102.0 IP) this season in the third-lowest mark in the N.L.
Stroman has pitched to a 2.25 ERA (13 ER/52.0 IP) in eight starts at Wrigley Field in 2023, the fourth-lowest mark among N.L. starting pitchers … he has allowed two or fewer runs in six of the eight starts at home this season.
NICKY HOMERS: Nick Madrigal yesterday hit his first home run as a member of the Cubs and homered for the first time since June 4, 2021 vs. Detroit with the White Sox … the home run snapped a 368 at-bat homerless drought, which was the fourth-longest active streak in the major leagues (source: Elias).
In 15 games since June 11, is hitting .375 (18-for-48) with four doubles, one home run, six RBI and a .444 on-base percentage … his season average has gone up 46 points in his last 15 contests, from .235 to his current .281 mark.
NICO AT THE DISH: Nico Hoerner yesterday established a career high by hitting safely in his ninth-straight game (13-for-39/.333) … he is batting .329 (25-for-76) with five doubles, two triples, one homer and 16 RBI in his last 18 games since June 9.
Hoerner leads the Cubs with 42 RBI this season, seventh-most among major league second basemen … the last time a primary second baseman finished the season leading the Cubs in RBI was in 2018 when Javier Baéz drove in 111 RBI.
IT’S GOOD TO BE YOUNG: Jared Young recorded a triple in both of the last two games, becoming the fifth Cub in franchise history to record two triples and a home run within the first nine games of his career (last Joe Wallis, 1975).
Since his call-up June 27, is 4-for-9 (.444) with two triples, a home run and four RBI in three games.
Between Triple-A Iowa and the Cubs, Young is batting .436 (17-for-39) with three triples, five homers and 17 RBI in his last 10 games since June 18.
HE’S A WINNER!: Dansby Swanson’s 3.0 WAR are the most among N.L. shortstops and second among all shortstops, according to Fangraphs … Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco
has a 3.7 WAR to pace the position.
Swanson is hitting .291 (46-for-158) with a .356 OBP in 40 games at Wrigley Field … he hit .261 (24-for-92) in June after batting .248 (28-for-113) in May …
Swanson has hit .313 (21-for-67) with RISP, with a .911 OPS in that situation.
BY THE MONTH: Chicago finished the month of June at 14-11, tying its win total from March/April (14-13) … the club finished 10-18 in May … here’s a look at the numbers by month:
2023 AVG OBP SLG R/G BB SO ERA IP ER BB SO
Mar/April .276 .347 .448 5.4 95 224 3.64 239.2 97 91 249
May .232 .319 .375 3.6 115 282 4.73 247.1 130 78 212
June .237 .316 .380 4.8 83 224 3.34 218.0 81 79 189
STARTING STUFF: Cubs starting pitchers have posted a 3.90 ERA (185 ER/427.1 IP) this season, the second-best mark among N.L. starting rotations and sixth-best in the majors … the rotation’s 50 home runs allowed is tied for the fifth-lowest total in the majors, while the 1.21 WHIP is eighth.
Justin Steele’s 2.43 ERA is the lowest among N.L. qualified pitchers, while Marcus Stroman’s 2.47 ERA ranks third.
Chicago has tallied 37 QS, the second-most in the N.L. and seventh in baseball.
WHAT A RELIEF!: The Cubs bullpen has a 1.06 ERA (6 ER/51.0 IP) in the team’s last 15 games since June 13 … in that span, the ‘pen has pitched to a 0.94 WHIP, walking 16 and striking out 53 … during the run, the bullpen’s 1.06 ERA is the lowest in the majors (Rays are second – 1.80) … Chicago’s bullpen pitched to a 2.42 ERA (21 ER/78.0 IP) in June, the lowest ERA in the major leagues during the month, while the bullpen’s 78.0 IP was the lowest mark in the majors.
Adbert Alzolay has posted a 0.93 ERA (2 ER/19.1 IP) in his last 16 games since May 6, walking three, striking out 18 and posting a 0.78 WHIP.
Michael Fulmer has allowed one earned run in his last 14 appearances since May 28, tossing 15.0 innings with a 0.93 WHIP (0.60 ERA).
Julian Merryweather since April 17 has pitched to a 0.94 ERA (3 ER/28.2 IP) with one win and allowed 22 hits and 14 walks with 42 strikeouts in 29 appearances … his 0.94 ERA ranks second in the N.L. and fourth in the majors (min. 25 G).
Starting Pitcher – #0 RHP Marcus Stroman (9-5, 2.47)
Last Time Out
Marcus suffered his fifth loss of the season June 25 in London against the Cardinals … had his career-high seven-start win streak and his seven-start streak of
allowing two-or-fewer runs (both dating to May 19) snapped … left after 3.1 innings
with a blister on his right index finger … surrendered a season-high-tying six runs,
three of which were earned … allowed a season-high eight hits, while striking out
a season-low two batters.
Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
6/25 @STL L, 5-7 3.1 8 6 3 1 2 64-38 4-4, 2 on
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 5-3 2.25 8 8 52.0 29 13 13 15 47
Road 4-2 2.70 9 9 50.0 46 19 15 20 38
AVG vs. LHB: .182 (36-for-198) / AVG vs. RHB: .228 (39-for-171)
Marcus is scheduled to make his team-high 18th start of the 2023 season today, his ninth at Wrigley Field … dating to Aug. 30, 2022, has allowed two runs or fewer in 19 of his last 24 starts, pitching to a 2.38 ERA (38 ER/144.2 IP), the lowest ERA in the majors during that span by 39 points (min. 24 GS) … his 14 quality starts lead the major leagues this season and his 23 such outings since the All-Star break of last season are tied for the most in the majors … his .182 average allowed (36-for-198) against left-handed hitters is the second-lowest among major league starters … his 2.47 ERA is the third-lowest in MLB and his .203 average against (75-for-369) is the second-lowest among qualified N.L. starters, … his 102.0 IP ranks sixth in the N.L.
Started the Cubs’ second game in London vs. the Cardinals, suffering the loss (3 ER/3.1 IP) … left in the fourth inning with a blister on his right index finger.
Had a seven-start winning streak from May 19-June 20, the longest streak in the major leagues this season and longest in a single season since Justin Verlander also recorded a win in seven-straight starts, June 24-Aug. 4, 2022 … was the longest by a Cubs starting pitcher since Kyle Hendricks earned a win in eight-straight starts, May 16-June 22, 2021.
Was named the N.L. Player of the Week for May 29-June 4 … allowed one run (no earned runs) on five hits in 15.0 innings with 14 strikeouts in two starts during
the week, earning a win in both outings.
May 29 vs. Tampa Bay tossed his second career complete game shutout (also Sept. 8, 2014 vs. Cubs), the Cubs first complete game since Alec Mills’ no-hitter, Sept. 13, 2020 at Milwaukee … took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning for the second time in his career (also July 24, 2014 vs. Boston).
Recorded his 1,000th career strikeout April 23 vs. Los Angeles (N.L.), retiring Freddie Freeman looking in the third inning.
Became the second Cubs starting pitcher since 1901 (also Jake Arrieta, 2016) with three outings of at least 6.0 scoreless innings in the team’s first 16 games.
Became the third Cubs starting pitcher since 1901 to allow two or fewer combined runs over his first four starts of a season (also Steve Stone, 1976; Jason Hammel, 2016).
Posted a 14.0-inning scoreless streak to begin the season, the fourth-longest by a Cubs pitcher since 1901.
Made his third career Opening Day start March 30 vs. Milwaukee (0 ER/6.0 IP), earning the win … improved to 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA (3 ER/21.0 IP) in his three career Opening Day starts.
In three Cactus League starts with the Cubs, went 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA (1 ER/10.0 IP) and 10 strikeouts.
Made two starts for Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, posting a 3.00 ERA (3 ER/9.0 IP).
