CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
ALLEN’S CAREER DAY POWERS CLEVELAND TO WIN
The Guardians built on momentum from the weekend and snapped a 3-game road skid with a 5-0 Memorial Day shutout of the Orioles on Monday afternoon at Baltimore’s Camden Yards… marked club’s fifth team shutout of 2023…club is seeking back-to-back series wins for the first time since March 30-April 5 after taking first two series of the season on the road in Seattle & Oakland.
The victory was paced by an exemplary effort from Cleveland’s battery…making just his 7th career start, LOGAN ALLEN piled up 10 K’s across 7.0 scoreless frames to notch his second win (7.0IP, 3H, 0R, 2BB, 10SO, 103 pitches)…the rookie left-hander faced either the minimum (3x) or 4 batters (3x) in 6.0 of his 7.0 frames – lone exception coming in the 4th when he faced 5 batters after a fielding error and a double put a pair of runners in scoring position…went on to retire 10 of final 11 batters he faced…southern Pennsylvania native CAM GALLAGHER picked up a pair of hits and drove in a pair of runs, breaking a scoreless tie with a 5thinning sac fly to score WILL BRENNAN (3-for-4, 2 2B, 2R) ahead of his opposite-field RBI-single in the 7th that spurred Cleveland’s 4-run rally…the Guardians backstop also cut down Cedric Mullins on an attempted steal in the 1st…Cleveland’s 7th-inning rally also included an RBI-double by STEVEN KWAN and a fielder’s choice
that plated a pair of runs with the help of a throwing error.
Cleveland (24-29) sits in 3rd place in AL Central standings, 3.5 games behind 1st-place Minnesota (28-26) and 1.5 games behind 2nd-place Detroit (-2.0G, 25-27)…despite winning 3 of 4 and 4 of last 7 games, Guardians have dropped 23 of last 38 overall since starting year 9-6…Cleveland is 1-0 to begin a 7-game road trip through Baltimore (1-0, two-to-play) & Minnesota (4G); club has dropped 3 of 4 and 9 of last 12 road games (12-14 overall).
MONDAY’S TIDBITS
After a career-high 10 strikeouts yesterday, LOGAN ALLEN became just the second pitcher in franchise history to have 3-ormore games with 8+ strikeouts in their first 7 career games, joining Herb Score, who accomplished the feat in 5 of his first 7 career games…is just the 8th pitcher in franchise history to have 10+ strikeouts in his first 7 career games, the first since TRISTON MCKENZIE in 2020.
After hitting his 536th career extra-base hit Monday, JOSÉ RAMÍREZ passed Nap Lajoie for 6th all-time in franchise history… with 3 more extra-base hits, he will pass Ken Keltner for 5th in club history.
The Guardians secured their 10th victory of the season when scoring 5-or-more runs and their first since an 8-6 victory against Los Angeles-AL on May 13 at Progressive Field…the club has scored 5-or-more runs in an MLB-low 13 contests this season, and sports a 10-3 record in such games…the last time Cleveland won by 5-or-more runs was March 31, a 9-4 victory at Seattle.
MAY ON THE MOUND
Through the end of April, the Guardians pitching staff as a whole owned a 4.04 ERA (114ER/253.2IP), 13th in MLB…with 2 games left to play in May, the pitching staff has lowered its ERA to 3.69 (195ER/475.2IP), 5th in MLB…the staff owns a 3.28 ERA (81ER/222.0IP) this month, 2nd in the AL behind Houston and 3rd in MLB.
The starting rotation lowered its ERA from 4.61 (75ER/146.1IP) at the end of April down to 4.06 (133ER/295.0IP)…the rotation’s 3.51 ERA (58ER/148.2IP) in the month of May ranks 5th in MLB …the starting staff has allowed an MLB-low 58 earned runs this month while throwing the 4th-most innings…the table below displays where Cleveland’s starting rotation ranks among MLB teams in May.
CLEVELAND STARTING ROTATION MAY SPLITS (MLB RANK)
ERA ER IP .AVG BB/9 WHIP
3.51 (5th) 58 (1st) 148.2 (4th) .246 (11th) 2.36 (4th) 1.19 (7th)
After ending April with a 3.27 ERA (39ER/107.1IP), the bullpen lowered its ERA to a 3.09 (62ER(180.2IP) mark, 4th in MLB, Baltimore is 2nd with a 3.06 ERA (69ER/202.2IP)…the bullpen’s 2.82 ERA (29ER/97.2IP) in May leads the AL and is 3rd in MLB…it has held opposing hitters to a 215 average this month, 2nd in the AL behind Chicago-AL and 4th in MLB…its inherited runners score rate of 21.3% (13-of-61) leads MLB…EMMANUEL CLASE has an MLB-high 17 saves ahead of SF’s Camilo Doval (14)…the pen has allowed just one across 23.2 innings over the last seven games.
CLEVELAND BULLPEN MAY SPLITS (MLB RANK)
ERA ER IP AVG BB/9 WHIP
2.82 (3rd) 23 (2nd) 73.1 (29th) .215 (4th) 3.19 (6th) 1.15 (3rd)
SHOW UP AND GET OUTS
Cleveland has benefited from strong defense recently…the club’s 9 outs above average in May are tied with the Padres and Royals for the MLB lead in that span…since the start of last season, Only Merrill Kelly (17 OAA) and Yu Darvish (16) have received better defense than CAL QUANTRILL (15). » JOSH NAYLOR (1st, 2 OAA), STEVEN KWAN (T1st, 2), WILL BRENNAN (2nd, 2) JOSÉ RAMÍREZ (T2nd, 3) and ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ (T2nd, 2) all rank within the top 2 at their respective positions in outs above average in May.
PUT 4 ON THE BOARD
Following Monday’s 5-0 victory, Cleveland improved to 16-5 when scoring 4-or-more runs…since the start of last season, the Guardians are 94-18 when plating 4+ runs, good for 5th-highest win percentage among MLB teams during that span…the club has totaled 4-or-more runs in 9 of its 25 games played this month. » Cleveland is 703-185 (.792) when scoring 4+ during the Terry Francona era (since 2013), holding the 2nd-highest in percentage in MLB behind Los Angeles-NL (769-158, .830)…over that period, the Guards are 166-515 (.244) when scoring 3-or-fewer runs, 2ndbest in the AL behind Tampa Bay (173-511, .253) and 5th-best in MLB.
WIN % WHEN SCORING 4+ RUNS, SINCE 2013
TEAM WIN% RECORD
Los Angeles-NL .830 769-158
Cleveland .792 703-185
New York-AL .784 736-203
St. Louis .780 704-198
Houston .777 701-201
TONIGHT’S STARTER – 47 CAL QUANTRILL RHP
QUANTRILL’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 2-3 4.75 10 10 55.0 56 30 29 18 31
Career 33-19 3.66 123 85 526.0 500 236 214 148 400
QUANTRILL ON THE ROAD
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-0 3.64 5 5 29.2 30 13 12 6 18
Career 12-13 3.93 56 34 224.2 230 114 98 67 177
TONIGHT’S START
The 28-year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his 11th start, 6th on the road, this evening in the middle contest of this 3-game series with the Baltimore Orioles…is starting on extended 5 days rest; is 15-10 with a 4.07 ERA (91ER/201.1IP) in 36 career starts on 5 days of rest…the club is 6-4 in Quantrill starts this season.
LAST TIME OUT
His last start came on May 24 vs. Chicago-AL in a 6-0 defeat… he suffered his third loss of the year after allowing a season-high 6 earned runs over 4.0 innings, marking his shortest start since September 4, 2022 vs. Seattle (3.0IP)…he allowed 6-or-more earned runs for the first time since allowing 6 earned runs on June 25, 2021 at Minnesota…after retiring the first 6 White Sox hitters in order, a leadoff walk in the 3rd led to a Tim Anderson RBI-single… the White Sox did most of their damage against Quantrill in the 4th, starting with a leadoff walk and infield single that led to a Jake Burger sacrifice fly, a Romy González 2-RBI double, a wild pitch that plated another run, and a Seby Zavala sacrifice fly that put Chicago-AL ahead 6-0…Quantrill’s outing ended after the final out in the 4th.
BALTIMORE BRIEFING
This will be his 5th career appearance and 4th career start against the Orioles…his last start against Baltimore came on August 30, 2022, a 5-1 victory at Progressive Field…Quantrill allowed just one run (earned) and one hit over 6.0 innings with 4 strikeouts and 3 walks…in his 4 previous appearances against the O’s, he sports a 1-1 record with a 6.00 ERA (8ER/12.0IP)… Quantrill has allowed three-or-fewer hits and one-or-fewer earned runs in 3 of his 4 appearances against the Orioles…his last start in Baltimore on June 6, 2021 was the shortest of his career, lasting only 1.1 innings while allowing 7 runs (5 earned) on 5 hits with one strikeout…teams are 3-1 in Quantrill’s 4 games against the Orioles.
He is 4-2 with a 3.66 ERA (32ER/76.1IP) in 18 career games/14 career starts against the AL East…the Guards have won each of Quantrill’s last five starts against the division, dating back to July 27, 2022…Quantrill’s lone start against the AL East this season was May 1 at New York-AL…he did not factor into the decision, despite throwing a season-high 7.1 innings…he allowed 2 runs (earned), a walk and 6 hits while striking out 2.
CONSISTENT CAL: THE ROAD WARRIOR
In Quantrill’s last 27 starts, dating back to July 11, 2022, he has a 13-3 (.813) record, ranking T2nd in win percentage among all MLB pitchers in their last 27 starts behind Los Angeles NL’s Tony Gonsolin (17-2, .895)…as a club, Cleveland has won 22 of Quantrill’s last 27 starts…since starting 2022 with a 1-5 record in his first 7 road tilts, including 5 straight losses, Quantrill has turned things around and won 6 consecutive decisions across his last 11 starts away from home…since July 22, 2022, Quantrill holds an unblemished 6-0 record with a 2.91 ERA (21ER/65.0IP), along with 50 strikeouts and 14 walks in his 11 road starts during that span… only Quantrill, Houston’s Framber Valdez (9-0) and Seattle’s Logan Gilbert (4-0) are unbeaten (min. 10 GS) in all road starts since July 22, 2022…he has received 4-or-more runs of support in of those 11 starts…Quantrill has a 7.20 RSA on the road sinceJuly 22, 2022, ranking 4th among all MLB pitchers with 10-or-more road starts during that timeframe.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Orioles were shut out by the Guardians yesterday, 5-0, in the opener of the three-game set at Oriole Park…Have dropped three straight series openers and four of their last five after beginning the year 13-0 in such games… Were shut out for the fourth time this season and first since May 14 vs. Pittsburgh; all shutouts have come since May 3…Have dropped four of their last five games at Oriole Park after beginning the year 15-7 at home.
WELLS, WELLS, WELLS: Tyler Wells has struck out at least seven batters in each of his last four starts, tied for the third-longest streak by an Orioles pitcher since the franchise moved to Baltimore in 1954, behind an eight-game streak by Connie Johnson in 1957 and a five-game streak by Erik Bedard in 2007; Wells is the first O’s hurler to strike out at least seven batters in four straight starts since Dylan Bundy did so in 2017…Wells’ streak is the third-longest active streak in MLB this season behind Atlanta’s Spencer Strider (11 G) and Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller (6 G).
Leads MLB in WHIP (0.83) and opponent on-base percentage (.220); also ranks among qualified pitchers in H/9 (2nd, 5.71), opponent batting average (2nd, .176), and BB/9 (7th, 1.71).
Has tossed at least 5.0 innings in each of his 11 appearances (10 starts) this season; entered 2023 with 12 such games (all in 2022).
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: Of Baltimore’s 54 games this season, 48 have been decided by four or fewer runs, tied with Los Angeles-AL for the most in MLB…The O’s have gone 31-17 in those games, the most wins and best winning percentage (.646) in MLB…The O’s have gone 22-13 in games decided by three or fewer runs, tied for the most wins in MLB with Cleveland (22-19).
FEELS GOOD TO BE HOME: The O’s are in the middle of a six-game homestand, which began this past weekend with three games against the Rangers (1-2)…The Orioles are hosting the Guardians for a three-game set which began yesterday (0-1)…The Birds are 16-11 (.593) in Baltimore and own the fourth-best home winning percentage in the AL and tied for fifth-best in MLB.
AGAINST THE GUARDIANS: The O’s are facing the Guardians for the second of seven games this season…The Birds will travel to Cleveland for four games at Progressive Field from September 21-24…Baltimore went 3-3 against Cleveland in 2022, 1-2 at Oriole Park and 2-1 at Progressive Field…The O’s have not won a season series against the Guardians since 2016 (5-1).
WHAT’S TRENDING: The O’s have won 25 of their last 38 games, 28 of 42, and 30 of 45…The 34-20 overall record ranks third in MLB to start the season (see box at right)… Entering today, the Rays (39-17), Rangers (34-19), Dodgers (33-22), Yankees (33-23), Braves (32-22), Astros (31-22), and Diamondbacks (31-23) are the only other teams with 30 wins this season, while the Rays and Rangers are the only other teams with 20 or fewer losses.
MOUNT UP: Ryan Mountcastle ranks fifth in MLB with 28 Barrels, per Statcast, trailing only New York-AL’s Aaron Judge (32), Toronto’s Matt Chapman (31), Atlanta’s Matt Olson (30), and New York-NL’s Pete Alonso (29)…He ranks tied for ninth in MLB with 80 Hard-Hit Balls…His 38 RBI rank tied for seventh in the AL and tied for 11th in MLB; they are tied with Los Angeles-NL’s Max Muncy for third among primary first basemen, trailing only New York-NL’s Pete Alonso (46) and Atlanta’s Matt Olson (42).
SOLID CONTACT: The Orioles rank tied with the Cardinals and Dodgers for sixth in MLB with an 89.8 mph average exit velocity, per Statcast, trailing the Braves (91.2 mph), Rays (90.3 mph), Angels (90.0 mph), and Rangers and Yankees (89.9 mph)… Baltimore’s 15.1 degree average launch angle on batted balls is the second-highest in the majors, trailing only the Dodgers (15.5)…Baltimore’s 576 Hard-Hit Balls rank sixth in the AL and ninth in MLB.
WHAT A RELIEF: The Baltimore bullpen owns a 3.11 ERA (70 ER/202.2 IP), the third-best in MLB behind the Yankees (2.95) and Guardians (3.09)…O’s relievers have 16 wins this season, tied with the Yankees for the most in the majors…The O’s are second in MLB with 235 strikeouts from the ‘pen, trailing the Royals (249).
ROSTER MOVES: The Orioles today signed outfielder Aaron Hicks to a Major League contract…He will wear No. 34 and be active for tonight’s game…In a corresponding move, outfielder Cedric Mullins was placed on the 10-day Injured List with a right groin strain.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #48 KYLE GIBSON RHP
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his 12th start of the season, fifth at home, and 22nd career appearance (21st start) against the Guardians tonight…Became the first O’s pitcher in club history (since 1954) to start and win each of his three first appearances with the team…Started a season 4-0 for the second time in his career, joining a 6-0 start with Texas in 2021; became the fifth Oriole starting pitcher since 2004 to begin a year 4-0, joining John Means (4-0 in 2021), Bud Norris (4-0 in 2013), Wei-Yin Chen (4-0 in 2012), and Erik Bedard (4-0 in 2006)…In 278 career appearances (272 starts), Gibson owns a 95-94 record with a 4.49 ERA (783 ER/1570.0 IP)…The O’s signed Gibson to a one-year contract on December 5, 2022…He has also spent time with the Twins, Phillies, and Rangers across 10 Major League seasons.
LAST TIME OUT: Earned his second straight win in his last start on May 25 at New York-AL…Worked a season-high-tying 7.0 scoreless innings on two hits with a season-high four walks and three strikeouts…Marked his team-leading sixth quality start of the season…Also marked his sixth win of the season; last season, he earned his sixth victory in his 20th start on July 27 vs. Atlanta with Philadelphia…Became the oldest O’s pitcher (35-214) to toss 7.0-or-more shutout innings in a start since Freddy García (36-236) also tossed 7.0 scoreless frames on May 30, 2013 vs. Washington… Marked his fewest hits surrendered in a start since also allowing two on April 22 vs. Detroit…Also marked his first shutout start of 7.0-or-more innings since also tossing 7.0 scoreless frames on August 27, 2022 vs. Pittsburgh with Philadelphia…Tossed 7.0 innings-or-more in back-to-back starts for the first time since working 15.0 innings across two outings from April 13-18, 2021 with Texas…Threw 96 pitches, 56 strikes.
CAREER AGAINST THE GUARDIANS: Making his 22nd career appearance (21st start) against the Guardians…Charged with a blown save in his last start against Cleveland with Minnesota on September 15, 2019 at Progressive Field…Allowed two runs (1 ER) on two hits (1 HR) and one walk in 1.0 inning…Threw 31 pitches, 16 strikes…Owns a 3-10 record with a 5.59 ERA (64 ER/103.0 IP) through his first 21 appearances (20 starts) against the Guardians.
CAREER AGAINST THE AL CENTRAL: Making his 96th career appearance (92nd start) against the AL Central tonight…Has made four starts against the division in 2023, going 1-1 with a 5.56 ERA (14 ER/22.2 IP) in those games…Dealt the loss in his last start against the AL Central on May 3 at Kansas City after allowing six runs on 10 hits (1 HR), both season highs, in 6.2 innings of work…Did not record a walk or a strikeout in a start for the first time in his career…Threw 74 pitches, 49 strikes…Made his MLB debut on June 29, 2013 against the Royals with Minnesota; earned the win after allowing two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and a hit batter in 6.0 innings at Target Field…Threw 91 pitches, 64 strikes…With the Rangers, he tossed a career-low 0.1 inning on April 1, 2021, at Kansas City…Owns a 33-32 record with a 4.54 ERA (267 ER/529.1 IP) through his first 95 games (91 starts) against the AL Central.
HOME COOKING: Making his fifth home start of the 2023 campaign tonight…Owns a 2-2 record with a 3.04 ERA (8 ER/23.2 IP) through his first four starts at Oriole Park this season…Dealt the loss in his last home start on May 14 vs. Pittsburgh after allowing four runs on seven hits with a then-season-high-tying three walks and five strikeouts in 5.0 innings…Threw 95 pitches, 57 strikes…Has lost each of his last two starts at Oriole Park since May 8 after winning two straight to begin the season.
