CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
BULLPEN IS LIGHTS OUT, OFFENSE ERUPTS FOR 11 IN WIN
After getting swept by Texas in a 3-game road set to open the second half, the Cleveland Guardians erupted for a cathartic 11-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in Monday night’s series opener at PNC Park…marked the Guardians second-largest margin of victory this season behind only a 14-1 win on June 28 at KC… Cleveland has gone 8-5-1 over club’s last 14 series since May 26 (25-20 record since 5/26).
In a bullpen game for the Guardians staff, XZAVION CURRY set the tone for Cleveland’s 9th team shutout of 2023 – T2nd-most in AL with Tampa Bay behind only Toronto (10) – twirling 3.0 scoreless frames to start the contest…MICHAEL KELLY followed with 1.2 spotless frames and was awarded his first career MLB win…six members of Cleveland’s relief corps combined for 12 strikeouts, including EMMANUEL CLASE who fanned the side in the 9th… the Guardians connected for a trio of 2-run homers, as AMED ROSARIO (3, 4th inn.), ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ (8, 6th inn.) and JOSH NAYLOR (13, 7th inn.) all went deep…Cleveland’s offense also tallied 5 doubles, including a pair by JOSÉ RAMÍREZ…the contest remained scoreless through the first 3.0 innings before the Guardians plated runs in each of their final six turns at the dish – including a 4-run rally in the 6th – and went 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Cleveland (46-48) sits in 2nd place in the AL Central standings, 1.5 games behind 2nd-place Minnesota (48-47) and 3.5 games ahead of 3rd-place Detroit (-5.0G, 42-51)…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 14 of 24, 21 of 37 and 24 of last 43, though have also dropped 42 of last 79 overall since starting the year 9-6.
THE CITY OF ROCK ‘N ROLL PLAYING THE HITS
Last night was the Guardians 22nd game with double-digit hits in 41 games since May 30, tied for the league lead with Texas…in Cleveland’s 53 games prior to May 30, the club had just 10 doubled-igit hit games.
JOSH NAYLOR went 2-for-5 with a double, one home run and 3 RBI to extend his hit streak to 8 games….he has also hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games…he now boasts the 7th-highest average in MLB (.310) and has driven in the 5th-most RBI (69)…his .397 average (60-for-151) is 20 points higher than anyone else in MLB over that span (next, Luis Arraez, .380).
Cleveland is the only team with 4 players ranking in the top 20 in hits since May 30…Naylor (60) is T2nd with TEX’s Corey Seager, behind MIA’s Luis Arraez (63)…JOSÉ RAMÍREZ(T11th, 49), AMED ROSARIO (T14th, 48) and STEVEN KWAN (T17th, 47) round out the foursome in the top 20.
THE BOYS IN THE PEN
Following last night’s shutout effort by the bullpen, it now owns a 3.33 ERA (124ER/334.2), 2nd in MLB behind New York-AL (3.27 ERA)…its .222 opposing batting average ranks 3rd behind New York-AL and Tampa Bay (both .221)…NICK SANDLIN has been a bright spot lately with 7 consecutive scoreless appearances (8.1IP), while owning a 2.52 ERA (10ER/35.2IP) on the season.
Cleveland’s bullpen has allowed 21.0% of inherited runners to score this season (22-of-105), the lowest pct. in MLB ahead of Toronto (22.2%)…SAM HENTGES has allowed 1 of 16 inherited runners to score this season, good for a 6.3% rate…Sandlin has inherited a team-high 26 runners this season and has allowed only 4 to score (15.4%).
DOESN’T MATTER THE LEAGUE, HE’S STILL HITTING
AMED ROSARIO currently ranks 5th in MLB with a .352 (43- for-122) Interleague batting average, while his 43 hits lead the American League and rank 3rd in MLB (min. 50 Interleague at-bats)…since June 17, he’s hit safely in 11 of 12 Interleague games, including 7 multi-hit efforts…during that stretch, he’s hitting .423 (22-for-52) with 2 home run and 14 RBI.
Over his past 36 games (16 Interleague) he has raised his average from .224 to .263 and has hit safely in 28 of 36 games overall…over that span (36G), he is slashing .313/.350/.420 with 8 doubles, 2 home runs and 23 RBI…he’s seeing the ball well, as he’s hitting .311 (14-for-45) against left-handed pitching and .314 (33-for-105) against right-handed pitching during this 36-game stretch…he has seen success in the summer months (June-August) over his career, hitting for a .287 clip (452-for-1,577) with 34 home runs and 172 RBI, compared to a .245 (223-for-907) average with 13 home runs and 84 RBI in the season’s opening months (March-May).
NO STRIKEOUTS HERE
The Guardians have struck out 665 times in 2023 and have a plate appearance per strikeout rate of 5.35, both the best marks In MLB ahead of Washington (668, 5.29)…the club has had 5-orfewer strikeouts in 26 games this season, leading MLB ahead of Washington (24)…JOSÉ RAMÍREZ (3rd, 10.10) and STEVEN KWAN (6th, 8.79) both rank in the top 10 in PA/SO rate, while JOSH NAYLOR (6.48) ranks 23rd.
The Guards are the only club to have 3 players rank in the top-15 for lowest swing and miss rate with Kwan (2nd, 11.3%), Ramírez (8th, 14.9%) and MYLES STRAW (11th, 15.3%) leading the charge…Kwan is also leading MLB, ahead of BAL’s Adley Rutschman (10.4%), with a 9.8% first-pitch swing rate…since debuting in 2022, he leads MLB with a 9.3% first-pitch swing rate and ranks 2nd in MLB behind MIA’s Luis Arraez (7.4%) with a 9.9% swing and miss rate.
TONIGHT’S STARTER – #41 LOGAN ALLEN LHP
ALLEN ON THE ROAD
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 2-1 2.97 6 6 30.1 28 10 10 13 34
Career 2-1 2.97 6 6 30.1 28 10 10 13 34
ALLEN’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 3-2 3.47 12 12 62.1 66 25 24 24 63
Career 3-2 3.47 12 12 62.1 66 25 24 24 63
TONIGHT’S START
The 24-year-old rookie southpaw is making his 13th career MLB start, seventh on the road, in the second matchup of this 3-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates…marks his 3rd career Interleague start, fashioning a 1-0 record with a 6.00 ERA (6ER/9.0IP) against NL opponents.
Each of his last 3 MLB starts have lasted 4.0-or-fewer innings after previously working 5.0+ innings in 8 of his first 9 career MLB outings…is seeking his first win since June 3 at Minnesota, has not factored into a decision since.
Allen was originally selected by Cleveland in the 2nd Round (56th overall) of the 2020 MLB Draft out of Florida International University…entered the season as Cleveland’s #8 prospect according to MLB.com…is starting on extended 8 days’ rest; owns a 1-1 record with a 1.80 ERA (3ER/15.0IP) in 3 starts on 6+ days’ rest…in 2 starts at Columbus since being sent down on June 29, he owns a 7.50 ERA (5ER/6.0IP) with 6 strikeouts and 4 walks.
LAST TIME OUT
Allen last pitched on July 9 for AAA Columbus at Nashville… worked just 3.0 innings, allowing 5 runs (earned) on 6 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts on 64 pitches.
Allen’s last outing in MLB was June 28 at Kansas City…he did not factor into the decision after throwing 98 pitches (61 strikes) in 3.2 innings of work…he did not allow a run and allowed 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5 Royals hitters…his start began with a 1-2-3 1st inning…despite an MJ Melendez single and drew Waters walk in the 2nd, he left them stranded with one of his 2 strikeouts in the frame…after a Nicky Lopez hit by pitch and Bobby Witt Jr. single to start the 3rd, he retired each of the next 3 hitters, 2 by strikeout, to end the inning…after retiring the first 2 Royals to start the 4th, a Drew Waters single and Samad Taylor walk ended his outing…10 of the 17 Royals hitters that Allen faced recorded at-bats of 6-or-more pitches, including four 8-pitch at-bats, resulting
in his high pitch count.
THE ALLEN WRENCH: A FIRST HALF RECAP
On June 9, Allen became the 2nd pitcher in MLB history to throw 4.1+IP, allow 2-or-fewer-walks, and throw 3+SO in each of their first 9 career games, trailing only Minnesota’s Louie Varland (12, 2022-23)…started his MLB career with 8 straight starts of 3-orfewer runs and became the third Cleveland pitcher with 8-or-more outings to begin a career, joining AARON CIVALE (9, 2019) and Cliff Lee (10, 2002-03)…became the 8th pitcher in franchise history with a 10+ strikeout outing within their first 7 career starts after throwing a career-high 10 strikeouts on May 29 at Baltimore… joined Herb Score (5 times, 1955) as the only Cleveland pitchers with 3-or-more outings of 8+ strikeouts within the first 7 starts of a career…is one of 3 Cleveland pitchers with 43+ strikeouts in their first 7 career starts, joining Danny Salazar (45) and Herb Score (66)…joined Score (1955) as the only 2 pitchers in franchise history with 8+SO in each of their first 2 career starts…became the third pitcher in Cleveland history with 6.0+IP, 8+SO and one-or-fewer earned runs in an MLB debut, joining TRISTON McKENZIE and Luis Tiant…his 8 strikeouts rank T4th in a Cleveland MLB debut.
RISP-Y BUSINESS
Opposing teams are hitting .172 (10-for-58) against Allen with runners in scoring position, the lowest of any starter on the roster (min 30.0IP), and .120 (3-for-25) with runners in scoring position and 2 outs…the .172 RISP average ranks 4th among AL pitchers (min. 50AB) and .120 average with RISP and 2 outs ranks 9th among AL pitchers (min. 25AB)…comparatively, with no runners on base, opposing hitters are slashing .296 (42-for-142), the highest of any Cleveland starter this season (min 30.0IP).
PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES: Were shut out 11-0 in the opener of their three-game series Monday night against the Guardians…Have lost each of their last four series since sweeping San Diego from June 27-29…Have had five separate winning streaks of at least four games this season, including a season-high seven-game winning streak from 4/17-23. ABOUT OUR ALL-STAR: Mitch Keller returns to action after appearing in the All-Star Game one week ago tonight…Keller allowed just one hit in 7.0 shutout innings in his last start before the All-Star break on July 8 at Arizona….He comes into tonight with 129 strikeouts, which were the third-most in a single-season in Pirates history prior to the All-Star break…The only other Pirate with more punchouts before the break is Bob Veale, who had 137 in 1965 and 134 in 1966.
NO THANKS, JUST LOOKING: Mitch Keller ranks second among all pitchers in MLB with 379 called strikes this season…The only pitcher with more this season is San Francisco’s Logan Webb (414)…Teammate Rich Hill ranks third in called strikes (349).
CASHING IN AT PNC: Mitch Keller is 5-1 with a 2.63 ERA (51.1ip/15er) in eight starts this season at PNC Park…Keller has been charged with two earned runs or fewer in all but one start at home this season (he allowed five earned runs in his only loss on June 6 vs. Oakland)…Keller’s 2.63 home ERA is the 12th-lowest in MLB and fifth-lowest among all National League pitchers.
THE ARMS RACE: The Pirates signed 2023 No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes today…The 21-year-old Skenes was rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 1 prospect in this year’s draft while also being tabbed by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect…Skenes is currently rated by Baseball America as the No. 1 pitcher among the outlet’s top 100 prospects (sixth overall).
THE HOT CORNER: Jared Triolo has hit safely in 10 straight and 11 of his last 12 games (13-for-44, .295)…Triolo’s 10-game hitting streak is the second-longest by a Pirate this season…The only National League player with a longer active hitting streak coming into today is Lars Nootbaar (11 games).
SHOW TIME: Monday night Quinn Priester and Endy Rodríguez became the ninth and 10th players to make their big league debuts for the Pirates this season…That’s tied with the A’s for the second-most MLB debuts this year…Cincinnati is the only team in MLB to have more players debut this season (12)…The Pirates had a total of 14 players make their Major League debut in 2022…That was tied for the fourth-most in all of MLB along with the Tigers..The team used a club-record 26 rookies in 2021…Special thanks to the Elias Sports Bureau.
AGAINST LEFTIES: The Pirates are 13-14 this year in games started by lefthanders… Connor Joe ranks 13th in the National League with a .929 OPS vs. southpaws…Joe
started in the leadoff spot for the second time this season in Pittsburgh’s last game vs. a lefty on Sunday against San Francisco’s Alex Wood and reached base Safely in each of his first two plate appearances.
CARLOS SANTANA’S HITS: Carlos Santana hit 216 home runs during his career playing for Cleveland, which ranks fifth in the club’s all-time history…Santana also ranks second in club history with 881 walks (Jim Thome is the all-time leader with 1008 free passes).
GETTING ON: Since making his big league debut on June 19, Henry Davis ranks third among all National League rookies with a .367 on-base percentage…Teammate Jared Triolo ranks fourth in that time among NL rookies with a .361 OBP.
STARTING PITCHER – #23 – RHP MITCH KELLER
MITCH KELLER: The 27-year-old righthander will make his 20th start of the season tonight…He was in line for the win (7.0ip/1h/0r) in his last start but had a no-decision; a 3-2 walkoff loss on 7/8 at Arizona.
vs. CLEVELAND:0-0 in one career start…Allowed one run while not issuing a hit in a no-decision on 9/25/20 at Cleveland…The Pirates were walked off in the ninth inning after Cleveland scored three times.
