CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
GUARDS PLATE 4 EARLY, SURRENDER 12 LATE IN LOSS
The Cleveland Guardians opened the second half with a 12-4 loss to the Texas Rangers on Friday night at Globe Life Field, as the club slid back out of 1st place by one half-game…snapped a 4-game win streak vs. Texas…Cleveland has gone 8-4-1 over club’s last 13 series since May 26 (24-18 record since 5/26). » The Guardians jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the contest and still held a narrow 4-3 advantage before the Rangers erupted for 5 runs in the 7th and 4 more in the 8th on their way to 12 unanswered tallies…brothers BO & JOSH NAYLOR connected for a pair of historic 2-run homers within a span of 4 plate appearances in the 3rd inning, the former blast traveling 435 feet…AARON CIVALE limited the Rangers to a pair of runs (5.0IP, 5H, 2R-ER, BB, 2SO, HR, 79 pitches) opposite Jon Gray (6.0IP, 5H, 4R-ER, 3BB-1IBB, 4SO, 2HR, WP, 88 pitches)…Civale surrendered both tallies in the 4th, as Nathaniel Lowe led off the frame with a solo homer (10) to CF followed later by a pair of singles from Adolis Garcia and Travis Jankowski, which pushed across another run…Jonah Heim delivered an RBI-single in the 6th to pull Texas within a run… Rangers 5-spot in the 7th came against SAM HENTGES (0.0IP, 2H, 3R-ER, BB) and ENYEL DE LOS SANTOS (1.0IP, 3H, 2R-ER, BB, 2SO); was powered by 5 hits and a pair of walks, while Garcia (24) and Heim (13) connected for the club’s second and third homers of the night, respectively, off CODY MORRIS in the 8th.
Cleveland (45-46) sits in 2nd place in the AL Central standings, one half-game behind 2nd-place Minnesota (46-46) and 4.5 games ahead of 3rd-place Detroit (-5.0G, 40-50)…the club entered the All-Star break in 1st place for just the fourth time across Terry Francona’s tenure (2013-23), as Cleveland also did so in 3 consecutive campaigns from 2016-18…Guardians have won 3 of 5, 13 of 21, 20 of 34 and 23 of last 40, though have also dropped 40 of last 76 overall since starting the year 9-6.
IT’S NOT HOW YOU START, IT’S HOW YOU FINISH
Since Terry Francona became manager in 2013, Cleveland has ranked as one of MLB’s best second-half teams…one of the biggest reasons for Cleveland’s success in the second half of the season has been their pitching…since 2013, the Guards pitching staff leads all second-half AL teams with the most wins (378), fewest losses (267), highest win percentage (.586), most shutouts (55), most complete games (20), most innings pitched (5,779.1), fewest home runs (662), fewest walks (1,691), and most strikeouts (5,827)…the pitching staff also possesses the AL’s lowest second-half ERA (3.44), OBP (.297), SLG (.386), OPS (.684), FIP (3.61), WHIP (1.19) and inherited runner score rate (25.1%)…the table below compares the Guardians overall rankings among AL/MLB teams both before the All-Star break and after the All-Star break since 2013.
THE DYNAMIC DUO
The Guardians offense has been led by the duo of JOSH NAYLOR and JOSÉ RAMÍREZ this season…Naylor and Ramírez have combined for 119 of Cleveland’s 343 RBI this Season, accounting for 34.69% of the Guardians run production…the 34.69% rate is the highest of any MLB combo of 2 teammates for their respective team, ahead of New York-NL’s Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor (30.71%)…Naylor currently leads MLB with 21 go- ahead RBI while Ramírez’s 20 are 3rd in MLB…the pair is also top-2 in MLB in game-winning RBI as Naylor is 1st with 12 and Ramirez is 2nd with 11.
Since May 30, Naylor has raised his batting average .80 points from .226 to .306…he’s hitting .399 (55-for-138) over that span, leading MLB ahead of MIA’s Luis Arraez (.384)…Naylor is one of just 12 MLB hitters with a batting average above .300…of those 12 hitters, only LAA’s Shohei Ohtani (71) and Naylor (66) have 65-or-more RBI…the last Cleveland hitter with a .300-or-better average and 65-ormore RBI through the club’s first 91 games was Victor Martinez in 2007 (.321, 71RBI)…the table above shows how Naylor ranks in MLB since May 30.
Ramírez has been hot since June 6, hitting safely in 25 of 31 games with 12 multi-hit outings…he’s hitting .333 (41-for-123) with 8 home runs, 23 RBI, 25 runs, 17 extra-base hits and 16 strikeouts during this stretch…currently on a 6-game hitting streak dating back to July 5, going 7-for-23 with 2 doubles and a solo home run… entering today’s game, Ramírez (555) is 2 extra-base hits away from passing Hal Trosky (556) for 4th-most in franchise history… is also set to play his 1,225th career game in a Cleveland uniform, tying Andre Thornton for 19th-most games played in club history.
SUPER NAYLOR BROS
In the 4th inning of last night’s contest, BO NAYLOR and JOSH NAYLOR each hit 2-run home runs, providing Cleveland’s only runs of the contest…they became first pair of brothers to play for Cleveland and each hit a home run in the same game…per Elias, they are the first brothers to hit home runs in the same game on the same team since B.J. and Justin Upton for Atlanta on 9/27/2014 and the sixth different set of brothers since 1900 to each hit a home run in the same inning, last done by the Uptons on 4/23/2013.
RUMBLE, YOUNG MAN, RUMBLE
Cleveland is one of 2 MLB teams (also Oakland) to have 7 different rookies throw 30.0+ innings this season (no other team has more than 4); TANNER BIBEE (70.0IP) LOGAN ALLEN (62.1IP), XZAVION CURRY (46.1IP), PEYTON BATTENFIELD (34.2IP), HUNTER GADDIS (31.1IP), GAVIN WILLIAMS (24.2IP) and TIM HERRIN (21.1IP)…36% of Cleveland’s innings pitched this season (294.2IP/818.1IP) have come via rookies, 2nd in MLB behind Oakland (40.67%)…the Guards rookies have 14 wins this season, tied with Oakland for most in MLB…Williams’ outing today will mark the Guardians 42nd start by a rookie arm in 2023, 2ndmost in MLB behind Oakland (46)…the Guards 260 strikeouts from rookies this season trail just Oakland (320)…Cleveland possesses the youngest average age of pitchers (26.2) among MLB clubs this
season, ahead of Miami (27.2).
TODAY’S STARTER – #63 GAVIN WILLIAMS RHP
WILLIAMS ON THE ROAD, MLB
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 0-0 0.00 1 1 7.0 1 0 0 1 6
Career 0-0 0.00 1 1 7.0 1 0 0 1 6
WILLIAMS’ MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-1 4.01 4 4 24.2 20 11 11 7 19
Career 1-1 4.01 4 4 24.2 20 11 11 7 19
TODAY’S START
The 6-6, 250-pound 23-year-old right-hander opens up his second half making his fifth career start, second on the road, in the second contest of this 3-game set with the Texas Rangers…made his MLB debut on June 21 vs. Oakland…coming off his first career win against Kansas City on July 8.
Williams is the organization’s #1 prospect, MLB’s #5 pitching prospect and the #13 prospect overall (MLB.com)…he was selected in the first round, #23 overall, out of East Carolina University by Cleveland in the 2021 MLB Draft…became the 7th different rookie to make their Major League debut for the Guardians this season…is
starting on extended 6 days’ rest for the second time in his career, last done in his first MLB start (5.2IP, 4H, 4R/ER, 3BB, 4SO).
LAST TIME OUT
Williams earned his first career win on July 8 against Kansas City after allowing 3 runs (earned) on 8 hits over 5.2 innings while striking out a career-high 7 batters against one walk…he recorded his first 3 outs via strikeout en route to retiring 11 of the first 13 batters he faced…allowed back-to-back singles with 2 Outs in the 4th frame but escaped the jam with a groundout…Bobby Witt Jr. connected for an RBI-triple in the 5th frame to put Kansas City on the board…the Royals struck again for two more runs in the 6th inning with an RBI-double from Kyle Isbel and a sacrifice fly from Drew Waters, finishing his day.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Williams only made 4 starts at the Major League level in the first half, debuting on June 21 at Oakland (5.2IP, 4H, 4R/ER, HR, 3BB, 4SO)…worked a gem in his second start at Kansas City, twirling 7.0-shutout innings of one-hit ball with 6 strikeouts and one walk… became just the second pitcher in franchise history to throw 7.0+
innings with one-or-fewer hit allowed within their first two Major League games…the other was Addie Joss in 1902 (9.0IP, 1H)… earned his first career win on July 8 against the Royals…overall, finished the first half with a 1-1 record and 4.01 ERA (11ER/24.2IP). » In 12 starts at the Minor League level this season (3 at AA Akron and 9 at AAA Columbus), he was 4-2 with a 2.39 ERA (16ER/60.1IP) while striking out 81 and walking 24…opposing batters were hitting .186 (35-for-206) against him.
ROAD TO THE SHOW
2023: Opened up the season at AA Akron and was effective in his 3 starts…over 14.1 innings he allowed just one earned run (0.63 ERA) on 6 hits with 20 strikeouts against 3 walks… was promoted to AAA Columbus following his start on April 20… made 9 starts at Columbus, posting a 3-2 record with a 2.93 ERA (15ER/46.0IP) with 61 punchouts and 21 walks…opposing hitters sported a .186 average (29-for-186)…at the time of his promotion to the bigs, among AAA pitchers (min 45.0IP), he was 2nd in SO/9 (11.93) 4th in WHIP (1.09) and 5th in ERA (2.93)…over his Minor League career he owns an 11.81 SO/9 and 3.59 SO/BB.
TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas blew out the Guardians, 12-4, last night to open 1-0 on this 9-G, 10-day homestand against CLE (1-0 + 2 G), TB (3 G), and LAD (3 G) including an off day on Thursday…club went 2-4 on 6-G road trip that ended the 1st “half”…team is 2-2 in last 4 G, but is 3-6 in last 9 G and 4-8 in last 12 G…team is 13-19 (.406) beg. 6/7, 4th-lowest win pct. in the A.L. and 8th-lowest in MLB…this stretch came after club reached season high point at 20-over on 6/6 (40- 20)…team’s 39-28 (.582) record since 4/28 is still 2nd-best in A.L. (BAL is .585, 38-27) and 7th-best in MLB…TEX is 43-33 in last 76 G and 48-35 last 83 G (beg. 4/9).
- At 53-39 (.576), TEX owns the 3rd-best record in the A.L. (TB: .624, 58-35; BAL: .611, 55-35) and 5th-best in MLB…53 wins rank 3rd in A.L. and T4th-most in MLB (61-ATL, 58-TB, 55-BAL, 53-MIA/TEX).
- The 53-39 mark is T3rd-best 92-G start to a season in Washington/Texas franchise history (see chart below).
Season high point of 20-over came after win 6/6 vs. STL (40- 20)…it was just the 8th season in TEX history to be 20-over at any point, and the earliest date/fewest games (6/6 and 60 G) to do it (prev. 6/19 and 70 G in 2016).
STANDINGS: Rangers retain a 2.0-game lead in the A.L. West entering today, and have lost 3.0 games on the lead over 2nd-place HOU by going 3-6 over their last 9 G…TEX has owned a lead of 2.0+ G in the division for 53 consecutive days beg. 5/23, as last smaller lead was thru 5/22 (+1.0 GA)…season-best 6.5-G lead in West after win 6/23 at NYY, which was largest division lead since winning the West by 9.0 G in 2016…TEX has had sole possession of 1st place in the West for 70 straight, 77 of 78, and 90 of the last 92 days beg. 4/14.
- TEX has been alone or tied atop the division for 106 of the season’s first 107 days (exception: 4/8).
SERIES STUFF: Texas has dropped 3 straight series and is 0-4-1 in last 5 series since last win (2-1 from 6/19-21 at CWS)…longest drought since 0-6-3 span from 8/23-
9/18/22…has gone 2-6-1 in last 9 series following a stretch of 6 straight series victories from 5/19-6/7, longest span for team since club-record 10 straight series victories from 5/20- 6/20/16…club is 17-10-2 overall in series this year, going 8-4- 2 at home and 9-6-0 on the road…is 13-7-2 in last 22 series and 16-8-2 in last 26…TEX has gone 7-3-2 in last 12 series at GLF, just 1-2-1 in last 4.
AT HOME: TEX is 28-18 (.609) at home, 5th-best home record in MLB: TB (.700, 35-15), ATL (.674, 31-15), LAD (.644, 29-16), MIA (.625, 30-18)…marks TEX’s best 46-G start at home since 2019 (29-17)…club has lost 4 of 6 and has a 7-10 mark in Arlington beg. 6/7…has still won 15 of 25, 16 of 27, 20 of 33, and 25 of last 41 at GLF (beg. 4/5)…TEX owns a 114-124 all-time record at GLF (2020-23), 34-25 last 59 G here beg. 9/11/22.
- TEX leads MLB in R (296) and R/G (6.43) at home in 2023…club 10-or-more runs in 2 straight and 8 of last 24 G at home (beg. 5/20).
FULL CLEVELAND: Prior to yesterday’s series opener, Cleveland was one of two A.L. teams that Texas had yet to face in 2023 (also MIN)…TEX went 1-5 vs. CLE in ’22, losing season series for a 5th straight year (2017-19, 2021-22)… TEX’s 10-23 (.303) record vs. CLE since start of 2017 is 2nd-lowest against any A.L. club over that span (11-26, .297 vs. BOS)…TEX is just 2-5 all-time at GLF vs. the Guardians.
- TEX is 12-5 (.706) against A.L. Central clubs this season, winning 3 of 4, 5 of 8, and 10 of last 14 G vs. the division… marks Rangers’ best win pct. against any MLB division in ’23.
ROSTER MOVES: The Rangers today announced that the club has placed RHP Josh Sborz on the 15-day Injured List, retroactive to 7/12, with right biceps tendinitis and recalled LHP John King from Round Rock (AAA).
FRIDAY NIGHT FIREWORKS: After finding themselves in a 0-4 deficit following the 3rd inning, the Rangers rattled off 12 unanswered runs to route the Guardians, 12-4, in last night’s 2nd “half” opener…Texas crushed a season high-tying 4 home runs (5x, last 6/3 vs. SEA), including a trio of blasts by 2023 MLB All-Star starters Corey Seager (solo), Adolis García (2-R), and Jonah Heim (solo) as part of a 4-R 8th inn.
- Last night was Texas’ MLB-leading 20th game with 10+ runs in 2023 (CHC is 2nd w/ 12)…that is already the T4th-highest total of 10+ R games in a single season in WSH/TEX franchise history, and club’s most since 2008 (25)…TEX is 19-1 in ’23 when scoring 10+ R (lone loss 11-12 on 7/3 vs. HOU).
- It was the 3rd time this season in which TEX has had 4 different players hit a HR (also 4/30 vs. NYY and 6/3 vs. SEA), all at Globe Life Field, this after just 2 Arlington instances by the Rangers in the team’s first 3 seasons at GLF (2020-22).
- Texas had 3 players both homer and double last night (Heim/Lowe/Seager), tying a club record, just the 6th instance in franchise history, and first since 8/9/06 at OAK (Rod Barajas, Mark DeRosa, Gary Matthews Jr.).
- Texas leads MLB in both runs scored (543) and runs per game (5.90) this season, the 2nd-highest run total thru the first 92 G of a campaign in WSH/TEX franchise history (545-1996)…543 R are the most by any MLB club over its first 92 G of a season since the 2017 Houston Astros (544 R).
THE GUARD DOG: Nathaniel Lowe finished a triple shy of the cycle last night, going 4-for-4 with a homer, double, 2 singles, a walk, and career-high 4 runs…also tied his career high for times on base (5, 2x, also 8/24/21 at CLE) and his 4 hits were a season high…he has slashed .444/.492/.759/1.251 (24-54) with 5 HR, 2 2B, and 10 RBI in 14 career games vs. Cleveland, his highest lifetime OPS against any MLB club…Lowe leads all active ML players (min. 50 career PA vs. CLE) in career OPS, BA, OBP, and SLG against the Guardians.
ONE FIDDY: Corey Seager last night recorded his 500th career RBI (7th-inn. RBI 2B) and 150th career home run (8thinn. solo HR)…according to Stathead, he is just the 17th primary shortstop (min. 80% of G at SS) in the Modern Era (beg. 1901) to reach 150 career HR…he is one of 5 active MLB players in that group (203-Francisco Lindor, 174-Trevor Story, 166-Xander Bogaerts/Carlos Correa, 150-Seager), and the only exclusively left-handed batter on the list.
- Although he does not currently qualify, Seager ranks among MLB leaders (min. 250 PA) in BA (2nd, .355), OPS (2nd, 1.044), SLG (2nd, .628), OBP (3rd, .416), and 2B (T4th, 27).
PLATE AND SERVE: Adolis García went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI and 3 R last night, including a 2-run HR in the 8th inning… he ranks among MLB leaders this season in RBI (1st, 78), R (T2nd, 72), and HR (T6th, 24)…he and ATL’s Matt Olson (76 RBI/71 R) are the only players in MLB who have accumulated 70+ RBI and 70+ R this season…per Stathead, García is just the 4th player (6th instance) in WSH/TEX franchise history to plate 70+ RBI and score 70+ R in their first 91 G of a campaign, joining Álex Rodríguez (2x, last 2002), Juan González (2x, last 1999), and José Canseco (1994).
DOUBLE TROUBLE: With 4 two-baggers last night, the Rangers have now recorded at least one double in 22 straight games (beg. 6/18), the longest active streak of its kind in MLB…it is also the T8th-longest doubles streak in club history (beg. 1972) and Texas’ longest since a 23-G 2B streak from 4/2-28/19…TEX has produced 59 doubles over the course of the streak and leads MLB with 209 doubles in 2023.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #44 Andrew Heaney, LHP (5-6, 4.71)
TODAY: The 32-year-old left-hander is scheduled to make his 18th start/appearance of the season this afternoon in the 2nd game of the 2nd “half”…has allowed 6+ R-ER in 2 of last 3 starts, going 0-2, 8.56 (13 ER/13.2 IP) in that span to raise season ERA from 3.98 to 4.71, highest since 5/9 (5.25)…took loss last Sat. at WAS, when he matched a career high with 8 R allowed (see below)…was on MLB Paternity List from 7/4-6 after his wife (Jordan) gave birth to twin daughters on 7/3…will be starting for a 2nd straight Saturday and starting for 2nd time in a span of 4 G for Texas…his 9.73 SO/9 would rank 9th in the A.L. if he qualified…is in his first season with Texas after signing a two-year free agent contract with the club on 12/9/22…is seeking to build on a 2022 campaign in which he produced career bests in ERA (3.10), WHIP (1.087), and strikeout rate (13.6 SO/9) with the Los Angeles Dodgers despite being limited by a pair of Injured List stints…the 9-year MLB veteran has appeared in 154 games/142 starts with Miami (2014), Los Angeles-AL (2015-21), New York-AL (2021), Los Angeles-NL (2022), and Texas (2023)…an Oklahoma City native, Heaney pitched collegiately at Oklahoma State University before being selected by the Miami Marlins in the first round (9th overall) of the 2012 MLB Draft…TEX is 9-8 in Heaney’s 17 starts this season.
LAST START: Took loss last Sat. at WAS in Rangers’ 8-3 defeat (3.0 IP, 8 H, 8 R-7 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 3 HR, 72 pitches/47 strikes)…did not return after rain delay of 1:17 in top of 4th…matched career high for runs allowed (2nd time, also w/ LAA on 8/22/15 vs. TOR)…the 7 ER allowed matched season high (also TEX debut on 4/4 vs. BAL)…also matched season high w/ 3 HR allowed (other 5/3 vs. ARI)… pitch counts by inning: 1st (27), 2nd (26), 3rd (19)…it was 3rd time in his last 7 starts to pitch less than 4.0 IP, as he has averaged less than 4.2 IP over those 7 starts since the beginning of June and does not have qualifying status despite being in the rotation all year.
VS. CLEVELAND: Has gone 0-0, 4.34 (8 ER/17.0 IP) in 4 G/3 GS over his career against CLE, making one start last year with LAD on 6/19/22 at Dodger Stadium (ND, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R-1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 1 HR)…his 4 G vs. CLE rank among his fewest against an A.L. opponent in his career: 2-LAA, 3-DET, 4-CLE.
AT GLOBE LIFE FIELD: Despite his performance last Saturday, has seen far better results in his 7 starts on the road (2-3, 3.99 ERA, .220/.290/.454/.744 opp. slash) than in his 10 starts in Arlington (3-3, 5.29 ERA, .258/.355/.462/.817 opp. slash) this season…took tough ND in last home outing on 7/2 vs. HOU (5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 SO)…his 5.29 home ERA is 4th-highest in A.L. among pitchers with 40.0+ IP at home…Heaney owns a lifetime 3-5 record and 5.75 ERA (36 ER/56.1 IP) in 12 G/GS at GLF.
TOUGH ON LEFT: Left-handed batters went 2-for-3 with a 3B and BB on Sat. at WAS, the 1st time all year for Heaney to allow multiple hits to LHB in an outing…the triple was just 2nd XBH to a LHB all year…LHB have slashed .156/.321/.222/.544 (7-45) with just 2 extra-base hits (2B, 3B) against Heaney in 2023…his .156 opp. BA allowed vs. lefties is the 10th-lowest mark in A.L. (min. 50 LHB faced)…Heaney has held lefties to a .198/.315/.302/.616 (21-106) slash line and just one HR (Jake Cronenworth on 9/11/22 at SD w/ LAD) over the last 2 seasons (beg. 2022).
