CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
FRIARS PLATE SIX TO DOWN GUARDS IN OPENER
The Cleveland Guardians opened a 6-game road trip with a 6-3 loss to the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night at Petco Park…Guards have dropped 3 of last 4 series openers, however Cleveland has won or split 5 consecutive series overall (4 series wins, one split), needing to take both remaining games from the Padres to make it 6 straight.
Tuesday’s contest featured a match-up of Southern California natives, as Mission Viejo’s TANNER BIBEE (4.0IP, 8H, 6R-ER, 2BB, 3SO, 2HR, WP, 75 pitches) toed the bump opposite El Cajon’s Joe Musgrove (6.0IP, 7H, 3R-ER, BB, 5SO, HR, 90 pitches), the latter coming out on top with his fourth win…San Diego capitalized on a pair of walks to start the bottom of the 1st and rallied for 4 early runs off Bibee, as Xander Bogaerts delivered a sac fly ahead of a 3-run shot off the bat of Gary Sanchez (6)…Fernando Tatis Jr. added a 2-out solo homer (13) in the 2nd and Bogaerts drove home San Diego’s sixth tally with an RBI-double in the 5th that ended Bibee’s night…JOSH BELL delivered Cleveland’s first run against his former team with a solo shot (6) to lead off the 2nd…a pair of hits by WILL BRENNAN (infield single) and CAM GALLAGHER
(double) set up a run-scoring groundout in the 5th…TYLER FREEMAN tacked on a sac fly in the 6th…XZAVION CURRY fanned a pair over 2.0 perfect frames in relief of Bibee…CODY MORRIS made his season debut with a scoreless 7th.
Cleveland (31-35) sits in 2nd place in AL Central standings, 2.5 games behind 1st-place Minnesota (34-33) & 3.0 games ahead of 3rd-place Chicago-AL (-5.5G, 29-39)…Guardians have won 6 of 9 and 9 of last 15, though have also dropped 29 of last 51 overall since starting the year 9-6…club is 0-1 to begin a 6-game road trip through San Diego and Arizona (3 games each).
TOUGH AS NAYLS
JOSH NAYLOR is riding a career-long 12-game hitting streak, including multiple hits in 6 of his last 7 games and 8 multi-hit efforts during the streak…he currently possesses the longest active hit streak in MLB…is slashing .489/.509/.702 with one home run and 16 RBI during this period… he has struck out just 3 times in 47 at-bats over this period, a 6.4% strikeout rate… Naylor’s 24 RBI in the 7th-inning-or-later is tied for MLB lead with STL’s Nolan Gorman…he leads American League first basemen with 48 RBI and is 2nd in MLB behind NYM’s Pete Alonso (49).
Among MLB hitters during his 12-game hit streak, Naylor ranks T3rd with 27 times on base, T6th with a .702 SLG, T8th with 8 XBH, T9th with 33 total bases and T10th with 11 runs…Naylor’s .489 average/BABIP, 7 doubles, 16 RBI, .510 OBP and 15 singles rank in the top 2 of all MLB hitters during his 12-game hit streak…he also leads MLB with 2.94 at-bats-per-RBI and 17.67 plate appearances-per-strikeout since May 30.
CHILL WILL IS HEATING UP
Since May 29, WILL BRENNAN has a slash line of .412/.444/.647 with 6 doubles, 2 home runs and 8 RBI…he’s hit safely in 11 of those 13 contests and ranks T1st among all hitters with Miami’s Luis Arraez, Texas’ Corey Seager, and JOSH NAYLOR for most multi-hit games (8) since May 29…among MLB hitters over this stretch, he ranks 2nd in the AL and 4th in MLB in average (.412, 21- for-51) and in BABIP (.475), T4th in AL and T6th in MLB in doubles (6), T4th in AL and T7th in MLB in singles (13), 4th in AL and 8th in MLB in OBP (.444) and 4th in the AL and 10th in MLB in OPS (1.092)…he’s raised his average from .204 to .268 since May 28… against fastballs in June, Brennan is hitting .522 (12-for-23) as
compared to a combined .200 (4-for-20) against offspeed pitches and breaking balls.
WILL BRENNAN MONTHLY AVERAGES BY PITCH TYPE
MONTH FASTBALLS BREAKING OFFSPEED
SEPT. ’22 .364 (8-for-22) .286 (4-for-14) .500 (3-for-6)
APR. ’23 .265 (9-for-34) .118 (2-for-17) .167 (1-for-6)
MAY ’23 .250 (8-for-32) .217 (5-for-23) .333 (3-for-9)
JUNE ’23 .522 (12-for-23) .200 (2-for-10) .200 (2-for-10)
FEELING HOT, HOT, HOT
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 of its last 7 games, 9 of its last 13 and 10 of its last 15 games…with a 9-hit outing last night, the Guards have 9+ hits in 7 straight games for the first time as a club since May 25-31, 2018…Cleveland is the third team this season to tally 9+ hits in 7-or-more consecutive games, behind Baltimore (8, April 24-May 2) and Toronto (10, April 2-12)…the Guardians offense leads MLB with 160 hits, a .296 batting average, 103 singles and 42 doubles (T1st) since May 28… the Guards rank 2nd in MLB with a .347 BABIP and .349 OBP, 3rd with 57 extra-base hits and 4th with 245 total bases…the last time Cleveland generated 160+ hits and 57+ extra-base hits over a 15-game span was April 30-May 15, 2018.
CLEVELAND MLB RANKINGS, SINCE MAY 28
TEAM H AVG 1B 2B OBP
CLE 160 (1st) .296 (1st) 103 (1st) 42 (T1st) .349 (2nd)
THE GUARDIAC KIDS
The Guardians lead MLB with 30 one-run games out of their first 66 games this season, owning a 13-17 record in such contests…the Guards 13 one-run victories this season rank 1st in the AL and 3rd in MLB and are the club’s most one-run wins through 66 games since 2011 (13-8, .619)…Cleveland’s 30 one-run contests are tied for 3rd-most in club history through the first 66 games of a season… the Guardians are the first MLB team with 30 one-run contests in their first 66 games since the 2018 Seattle Mariners (21-9, .700).
SPEED…I AM SPEED…
As a team, Cleveland leads the AL and ranks 2nd in MLB with a 29.4 ft./sec. sprint speed, trailing Philadelphia (29.5)…the Guards run from home-to-1st at an average rate of 5.20 seconds, the fastest speed in MLB ahead of Cincinnati (5.21)…the Guardians lead MLB with 67 infield hits this season…MYLES STRAW leads the club with 10 infield hits
TONIGHT’S STARTER – #43 AARON CIVALE RHP
CIVALE ON THE ROAD
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-0 0.00 2 2 12.0 6 0 0 3 7
Career 12-10 3.73 36 36 205.1 178 88 85 47 162
CIVALE’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 2-1 2.31 4 4 23.1 19 6 6 6 15
Career 26-22 3.97 67 67 376.1 346 177 166 91 327
TONIGHT’S START
The 27-year old right-hander is scheduled to make his fifth start of the season, third on the road, in the second matchup of this 3-game set with the San Diego Padres…marks his third start since returning from the Injured List after missing 46 games due to a strained left oblique…owns a 1.69 ERA (2ER/10.2IP) with 7 strikeouts and 4 walks in his 2 starts since returning.
Has yet to give up an earned run on the road this season over 12.0 innings of work…threw 7.0-shutout innings at Seattle on April 1 and 5.0-shutout innings at Minnesota on June 2…the last Cleveland pitcher to open up the season with 12.0-or-more scoreless innings on the road was Mike Clevinger from April 2-21, 2018 (14.1IP).
He’s making this start on extended 5 days’ rest…is 8-6 with a 3.49 ERA (46ER/118.2IP) with 97 strikeouts and 21 walks in his career on 5 days’ rest.
LAST TIME OUT
In his first start back at Progressive Field since April, he earned his second win of the season on June against Boston, working 5.2 inningsand allowing 2 earned runs (4H, 2BB, 3SO)…he kept Boston scoreless through the first 4.0 frames before Reese McGuire doubled with 1 out in the 5th…Jarren Duran would drive him in with an RBI-single two batters later…Civale’s day came to a close after Triston Casas sent a solo shot to left field with 2 outs in the 6th, the right-hander’s first home run allowed this season… through his first 4 starts, he’s holding opposing batters to a .218 batting average (19-for-87).
SEE YOU IN SAN DIEGO
This is his second career start against San Diego…his lone outing against the Padres came on August 23, 2022, a 3-1 victory at Petco Park…he did not factor into the decision after allowing one earned run over 4.2 innings with 4 strikeouts and 2 walks… has made 2 starts against the NL West, going 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA (4ER/8.2IP).
In 11 career Interleague starts, he’s 2-5 with a 4.50 ERA (30ER/60.0IP)…made 2 Interleague starts in 2022, one of which was against San Diego, allowed 4 earned runs over 8.2 innings (4.15 ERA) across his 2 Interleague outings.
3 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
For his career, Civale is 24-1 with a 3.19 ERA (77ER/217.0IP) in games when he receives 3-or-more runs of support; Cleveland is 32-4 in such contests…on the contrary, he has a 2-21 record with a 5.03 ERA (89ER/159.1IP) in games receiving 2-or-fewer runs of support; Cleveland has gone just 6-25 in those games.
TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE
Civale’s curveball is holding hitters to a .042 (1-for-24) clip this season, the lowest average of any MLB pitcher’s curveball (min. 25 PA)…in 2022, Civale’s curveball held opposing hitters to a .124 (13-for-105) clip, the 2nd-lowest average of any MLB pitcher’s curveball (min. 100 PA), behind TRISTON MCKENZIE, who held hitters to a .120 clip (19-for-158).
The pitch has 63.1 inches of vertical drop, 7.1 inches more than the league average of curveballs thrown at his velocity…its 12.5 inches of horizontal break is 6.0 inches better than league average or 93% break vs. the average curveballs at the same velocity…he ranks in the 96th percentile of curveball spin rate in MLB, typically boasting 24.5 revolutions (2995 RPM) from hand to plate, and throws it in the strike zone 52% of the time (Baseball Savant).
FOUR FOR FOUR
Through his first 4 starts, he has yet to give up a run in the first 4.0 frames (16.0IP)…opposing hitters are batting .179 (10-for-56) off him in those innings…has given up the totality of his runs in the 5th and 6th innings (8.85ERA, 6ER/6.1IP), with batters hitting at a .321 clip (9-for-28) with one home run.
SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
Padres take Game 1 against the Guardians 6-3
- Starter Joe Musgrove got his 4th win of the season last night after working 6.0 innings of 3-run, 7-hit ball…he allowed 1 homer and a walk with 5 punchouts.
- Gary Sanchez hit a 3-run home run in the 1st inning, Manny Machado went 2-for-4, Xander Bogaerts doubled, and Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a solo home run in the 2nd.
Padres have won 4 of their last 5 games and 5 of their last 7
- The Friars have won 4 of their last 5 games and 5 of their last 7…in their last 7 games, Padres pitchers have a 3.30 ERA (23 ER, 62.2 IP), and Padres batters have a .288 average with a .483 SLG and 15 doubles, a triple, and 10 HR…they’ve scored 5.4 runs per game since June 5.
- The Padres are looking for their 1st series win at home since May 1-3 vs. the Reds…they have yet to sweep any team in a series longer than 2 games, and 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.
Michael Wacha looks to add to his team-leading 7 quality starts
- Starter Michael Wacha gets the ball for the 1st time since throwing his team-leading 7th quality start on Wednesday, June 7 vs. Seattle…he allowed just 2 hits across 6.0-shutout innings…his 7 quality starts rank T-10th in the NL this year, and he had 9 QS overall in all of 2022 with Boston…his career high in quality starts are 19 in 2014 with the Cardinals.
- Wacha’s 3.18 ERA this year is the lowest among all Padre starters, and his 62.9 first-pitch strike percentage is the highest in the rotation.
- His 33.5 ground ball percentage, however, is the 2nd lowest on the team (including relievers), ahead of just Steven Wilson’s 31.2 ground ball percentage.
San Diego batters have plated 5.09 runs per game since June 1
- Since the beginning of this month, the Padres have scored 5.09 runs per game on average…while that ranks 8th in MLB in that time, the Padres had scored just 4.07 R/G from the beginning of the season through the end of May (which ranked 24th in baseball).
Battle of the ‘pens
- San Diego’s bullpen has the lowest ERA in the National League at 3.33, which also ranks 5th in MLB behind the Angels (3.24), Astros (3.17), Guardians (2.96), and Yankees (2.72)…the Padres and Guardians both tie for the lowest WHIP of any team in baseball this year at 1.16.
XBH allowed
- The Padres pitching staff has allowed just 170 extra-base hits this year, the 2nd fewest in MLB (Texas has allowed 167 XBH). Padres have committed just 24 errors, lead MLB in outs above average (OAA) with 21
- The Padres have committed just 24 errors this year for a .990 fielding percentage, tied with Arizona for the fewest errors of any team in baseball… per Statcast, they have also combined for an MLB-most 21 outs above average (next most are the Mariners 13 OAA), and an MLB-most 17 “runs prevented” (next most are the Mariners 11).
STARTER – #52 MICHAEL WACHA
Wacha set for 3rd career start vs. CLE
31-year-old Michael Wacha takes the mound tonight for his 3rd career start vs. CLE, with the other 2 taking place in 2015 and 2021…he allowed just 1 ER in both starts across a combined 11.0 IP as a member of the Cardinals and then the Rays, getting wins in both of those 2 starts… Josh Bell is the only current Guardian with 10+ at-bats vs. Wacha, going 3-for-18 (.125) with 1 HR…also of note, Amed Rosario is 1-for-8 (.125) and Jose Ramirez is 0-for-5.
Wacha tosses 6.0-plus shutout innings of 2-hit ball-orfewer for 4th time this season
Last Wednesday, Wacha took the mound for his 7th career start vs. SEA and earned both his first winning decision and first quality start vs. the Mariners, allowing just 2 hits across 6.0-shutout innings…Wacha has now allowed 2 hits-or-fewer across 6.0-plus innings pitched 10 times in his career, with 4 of those outings coming this season as a member of the Padres…the only time one of his teams lost in 1 of those 10 such outings was this season on May 2 vs. CIN in SD’s 2-1 defeat.
Hard hit%
Is getting hit hard 33.0% of the time (84th percentile), his 2nd-lowest hard hit % behind only 30.1 % in 2017…his career average hard hit % is 35.2%, and the MLB average is 36.1%. The best winning percentage in MLB since ’22 Enters tonight’s start with a 6-2 record and the Padres are 8-4 in his starts…among all pitchers since the beginning of 2022 (min. 35 starts), Wacha’s .800 winning percentage (17-4) is best in the Majors…it’s ahead of Kyle Wright (.778, 21-6), Zac Gallen (.760, 19-6) and Tyler Anderson (.750, 18-6), Clayton Kershaw (.741, 20-7) and Justin Verlander (.741, 20-7).
Wacha earns first-career Pitcher of the Month award
After going 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA in 5 May starts, Wacha became the 2nd Padres pitcher of the month winner in the last 3 instances, with rotation-mate Yu Darvish in September/October of last season…in 32.0 IP, he allowed just 3 earned runs on 16 hits with seven walks and 26 strikeouts, while holding opposing batters to a .147 AVG…during the month of May, he led the Majors in ERA, WHIP (0.72), AVG against and opposing OPS (.405).
The month of May overview
He opened his award-winning month with 6.0 scoreles IP in a no-decision vs. CIN on May 2, holding the Reds to two hits….he then picked up the victory in 3 consecutive starts on May 9 @ MIN, May 15 vs. KC and May 21 vs. BOS…he compiled 15.0 consecutive scoreless IP after firing 7.0 scoreless IP of one-hit ball with a career-high 11 strikeouts in the start against Kansas City and hurling 6.0 scoreless frames against BOS…he took a no-hitter into the 8th inning of his start vs. KC before surrendering a leadoff single in the eighth to Michael Massey.
Wacha’s pitch mix
Throws a changeup 31.6% of the time, and is limiting opponents to a .186 AVG against it…his cutter drops an average of 24.6 inches – which is 4.3 more inches and 15% more rise than other ML cutters – the 5th-most vertical movement of any cutter in the Majors (min. 100 throws)…opponents are hitting .324 against it, with 2 of his 6 HR allowed coming against the pitch…opponents are hitting .171 vs. his 4-seamer and .250 vs. both his sinker and curveball.
