CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
GUARDS WIN 2-1, CLINCH SEASON SERIES VS. TWINS
The Cleveland Guardians edged the Minnesota Twins by a 2-1 margin to take Wednesday afternoon’s series finale at Progressive Field…the victory also gave Cleveland a win in the overall season series against Minnesota (7-6)…club has gone 14-11-4 over last 29 series (+1G above .500/46-45 record since May 26). WILL BRENNAN drove in both Cleveland runs, giving the Guards an early 1-0 lift with a one-out RBI-single in the 2nd to plate ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ, who led off the frame with a ground- rule double…Gimenez also set-up the game-winning tally with a one-out single in the 4th ahead of Brennan’s 2-out RBI-double… play was halted with 2 outs in the bottom of the 3rd, as the two teams endured a one-hour, 6-minute rain delay…both starting pitchers returned to action, however, as GAVIN WILLIAMS went on to complete 5.0 frames to earn the victory (5.0IP, H, R-ER, 4BB, 4SO, WP, 89 pitches)…the right-hander’s lone run allowed came in the 5th as the result of a lead-off walk to Willi Castro, who later came home on Andrew Stevenson’s RBI-single…Twins starter Joe Ryan gave up both Cleveland runs in the defeat (4.0IP, 4H, 2RER, BB, 3SO, 89 pitches)…the Guardians bullpen combined for 7 K’s across 4.0 scoreless innings of one-hit ball, as spotless single frames of relief from SAM HENTGES, REYNALDO LÓPEZ and NICK SANDLIN preceded EMMANUEL CLASE’s MLB-leading 38th save. With 22 games remaining and the Twins ‘Magic Number’ sitting at 17, Cleveland (67-73) sits in 2nd place in AL Central standings, 6.0 games behind 2nd-place Minnesota (73-67) & 3.5 games ahead of 3rd-place Detroit (-9.5G, 63-76)…despite winning 7 of last 12, Guardians have dropped 11 of 20, 22 of 37 and 67 of last 125 overall since starting year 9-6.
THE LAND IN LA-LA LAND
Tonight’s affair marks the beginning of a 4-game set between the Guardians and Angels…Cleveland won 2 of the first 3 games played this year on May 12-14 at home, losing 4-3, then winning 8-6 and 4-3 to take the series…if the Guards at least split this 4-game set with the Angels, they will have won the season series against the Halos in 8 of the last 11 seasons, losing 4 of 7 games last season, dropping 5 of 7 in 2014 and tying 3-3 in 2018…last year, the Angels swept Cleveland in 4 games in Anaheim from April 25-28…the Guardians trail by the slimmest of margins in the alltime series, 333-334 (.499)…since 2015, Cleveland’s 35-12 (.745) record against the Angels is the 3rd-best record of any MLB team (min. 24 GP) against a single opponent behind Oakland vs. Detroit (38-12, .760) and Houston vs. Colorado (19-5, .792). BEST WIN PCT. VS. OPPONENT SINCE 2015 (min. 24 GP) TEAM vs. OPP RECORD WIN % HOU vs. COL 19-5 .792
OAK vs. DET 38-12 .760
CLE vs. LAA 35-12 .745
NYY vs. KC 37-13 .740
TEX vs. KC 39-14 .736
Since TERRY FRANCONA took over in 2013, Cleveland owns a 41-19 (.683) record against the Angels, the 5th-best mark of any AL team against an AL opponent since 2013…the .683 win percentage is also the club’s best W-L record against any MLB opponent during that span.
CLEVELAND WIN PCT. VS. OPPONENT SINCE 2013
OPPONENT RECORD WIN %
LAA 41-19 .683
TEX 39-22 .639
CIN 30-18 .625
COL 8-5 .615
MIA 8-5 .615
THE RETURN OF THE GUARDIANS’ ANGELS
On August 31, the Guardians claimed RHP LUCAS GIOLITO, RHP REYNALDO LÓPEZ and LHP MATT MOORE on waivers from the Los Angeles Angels…Giolito tallied a 1-5 record with a 6.89 ERA (25ER/32.2IP), and 34 strikeouts in 6 starts with LAA, and López registered a 0-2 record with a 2.77 ERA (4ER/13.0IP) with 19 strikeouts in 13 appearances for the Halos after both players were acquired from the White Sox in a trade deadline deal…after signing with Los Angeles-AL before the 2023 season, Moore tallied a 4-1 record with a 2.66 ERA (13ER/44.0IP) and a 49:12 SO/BB ratio… Moore’s 2.66 ERA led all Angels pitchers until his departure (min. 2.0IP), while López’s 2.77 ERA ranked 2nd. KOLE CALHOUN spent 7 seasons with the Halos from 2012-19, recording a .249 average (884-for-3,547) with 140 home runs and 451 RBI in 966 games…in his 19 career games against his former ballclub, all of which have taken place since leaving the team, he is hitting .321 (18-for-56) with 13 runs, 6 home runs and 13 RBI, while slashing .400/.696/1.096…since 2020, he ranks among MLB hitters against the Angels (min. 60PA) in SLG (.696, 3rd), OPS (1.096, 3rd), BABIP (.387, 9th) and batting average (.321, 10th). GO AHEAD, NAYLZ. In the previous series against the Angels, JOSH NAYLOR made history by hitting go-ahead home runs in the 8th inning of all 3 games…he became the first MLB player in the Expansion Era (since at least 1961) to hit go-ahead home runs in the 8th-or-later in 3 consecutive games…since 2021, Naylor’s 8 go-ahead home runs in the 8th-or-later are tied with TEX’s Adolis Garcia for most in MLB; no other player besides the duo has more than 6 during that span…he finished the most recent series against the Halos with a slash line of .455/.538/1.273/1.811, going 5-for-11 with 3 home runs and 7 RBI…he is the only Guardians hitter since 2021 to post 3-or-more homers and 7-or-more RBI in a 3-game series, doing so 3 separate times (5/9-5/11/22 at CWS, 5/12-5/14/23 vs. LAA, 7/17-7/19/23 at PIT).
BATTING AND BULLPEN BRIEFS
In his last 12 games dating back to August 22, WILL BRENNAN is hitting a team-best .439 (18-for-41) with 5 runs scored and 5 RBI, while slashing .442/.488/.930…his .439 batting average leads all MLB hitters (min. 40PA) during that stretch by .0004 points, ahead of LAA’s Luis Rengifo (.439) and LAD’s Mookie Betts (.439). Yesterday, EMMANUEL CLASE tied José Mesa (104) for 5thmost saves in club history…his 38 saves this season lead MLB ahead of CIN’s Alexis Diaz (35) and SF’s Camilo Doval (35)…his 64 appearances are 3rd in MLB, trailing ARI’s Miguel Castro (66), and SEA’s Matt Brash (68)…since July 7, he has converted 14 of 16 save chances with a 1.54 ERA (4ER/23.1IP) across 23 games. In 19 games against the Angels since 2019, JOSÉ RAMÍREZ is hitting .343 (23-for-67) with 15 runs scored, 6 home runs and 17 RBI, while slashing .430/.746/1.176…he ranks among MLB hitters against the Angels since 2019 (min. 70PA) in SLG (.746, 1st), OBP (.430, 3rd), OPS (1.177, 3rd), batting average (.343, 4th), AB/HR (11.17, 6th), AB/RBI (3.94, T6th) and PA/SO (7.90, 9th).
TONIGHT’S STARTER – #47 CAL QUANTRILL RHP
QUANTRILL ON THE ROAD
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-2 6.27 7 7 37.1 46 27 26 10 22
Career 12-15 4.34 58 36 232.1 246 128 112 71 181
QUANTRILL’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 2-6 6.16 14 14 73.0 85 51 50 25 40
Career 33-22 3.89 127 89 544.0 529 257 235 155 409
TONIGHT’S START
The 28-year-old right-hander is making his second start since returning from his second stint on the Injured List in 2023…marks his 15th start of the season, eighth on the road, in the opener of this 4-game series with the Los Angeles Angels…missed 48 games due to right shoulder inflammation, the most time he’s missed due to injury in his career…the 5-year veteran has missed 72 games this season over two stints on the Injured List, both with right shoulder inflammation…was sidelined from June 2-30 earlier this year. He’s seeking his first win since May 7 against Minnesota, working 7.0-shutout innings on one hit with 4 punchouts and 3 walks in that outing…has made 6 quality starts in 14 outings this season.
LAST TIME OUT
Quantrill made his return to the mound on Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays…he did not factor into the decision after recording a quality start, allowing 2 runs (earned) on 2 hits with 2 strikeouts and 3 walks across 6.0 innings of work in a 3-2 Guardians win… after walking Brandon Lowe in the 1st frame, Randy Arozarena
would drive him in with an RBI-double, giving Tampa Bay an early 1-0 lead…the Rays tacked on a second run in the 2nd inning with an RBI-double from René Pinto…Quantrill would lock down from that point on and retire 12 of the last 13 batters he faced to finish his outing…ended a drought of 5 outings without a quality start… he last threw a quality start on May 13 against Los Angeles-AL.
CAL-IFORNIA QUANTRILL
This will be his sixth appearance (5 starts) against Los AngelesAL, owning a 1-1 record with a 2.67 ERA (8ER/27.0IP) against the Angels…all four of his starts against the Halos have been quality starts…he took on the Angels on May 13 at Progressive Field, an 8-6 victory…did not factor into the decision after allowing 3 runs (earned) on 6 hits with 2 strikeouts across 6.0 innings…made two starts against Los Angeles-AL in 2022, going 0-1 with a 2.77 ERA (4ER/13.0IP) with 10 strikeouts and 3 walks…his sole start at Angel Stadium came on April 28, 2022, suffering the loss after allowing 3 runs (one earned) on 4 hits across 6.0 innings of work in a 4-1 defeat…made one relief appearance against the club in 2021, allowing one run (earned) on 3 hits in 1.0 inning. Has made 21 appearances (15 starts) against the AL West, fashioning a 6-3 record with a 3.04 (31ER/91.2IP) and one save… in 3 starts against the division this season, he’s 0-1 with a 5.74 ERA (10ER/15.2IP)…in his 15 starts against the AL West, Quantrill is 6-3 with a 3.03 ERA (29ER/86.0IP) and 10 quality starts…owns a 2-3 record with a 6.50 ERA (32ER/44.1IP) in 9 appearances (8 starts) against the AL West on the road…he’s made 6 appearances as a reliever against the division, owning a 3.18 ERA (2ER/5.2IP)… recorded a save on August 18, 2020 against the Rangers while he was with San Diego.
RUNNING THROUGH THE SIX
Quantrill has made 6 starts of 6.0-or-more innings this season, going 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA (10ER/38.1IP)…Cleveland is 6-0 in those games, despite scoring 4-or-fewer runs in 5 of those 6 contests…when Quantrill doesn’t work 6.0-or-more innings, he is 0-6 with a 10.38 ERA (40ER/34.2IP) and Cleveland is 1-7 in those contests. In his tenure with the Guardians, he has made 40 starts of 6.0-or-more innings, going 19-4 with a 2.46 ERA (70ER/256.1IP)… Cleveland owns a 29-11 record in those outings…he is 6-9 with a 6.39 ERA (93ER/131.0IP) in all other starts, while the Guardians are 12-18 in such contests.
LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
No team release available.
