BRONX, NY — Indeed, this is that tough patch for the Cleveland Guardians after losing two-of-three in the Bronx and trying to contain Aaron Judge and the Yankees. Then again, no pitching staff in baseball is able to keep Judge from hitting another home run.
Judge hit his Major League leading 48th home run Thursday afternoon in the Guardians’ 6-0 loss that concluded a 1-5 road trip, more of a concern they are 6-12 over their last 18 games, though with a slim 2.0 game AL Central first place advantage over the Royals.
HR No. 48 on the year for Aaron Judge ⚾️💣#RepBX #MLB #Yankees #LatinoSports #AaronJudge pic.twitter.com/IJhdmWfrKL
— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) August 22, 2024
So what has gone wrong with the Guardians? Before embarking on the road swing that concluded in the Bronx they were holding a sizable lead in the division and owned an AL best record, rivaling also the Yankees and Orioles who have also had their share of not being consistent in the win column.
After Yankees starter Gerrit Cole allowed a first inning leadoff single to Steven Kwan, well that was it. The Guardians could not get to Cole and three other relievers. A team that has relatively mediocre starting pitching has played small ball this season and their bullpen leads baseball in ERA, so with any margin of a lead in the late innings and the Guardians have been able to compile the wins.
Gerrit Cole earned his 150th career win on Thursday afternoon in result to a six-inning shutout performance at Yankee Stadium – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
But you need offense and the runs have been difficult to find in the past week. There are no answers in baseball as to why a team with perennial All-Stars in the lineup has suddenly seen their bats go cold. José Ramírez, though gets on base but not with the big hit and recorded a season high-tying three walks, also stealing his 30th base of the season in the sixth inning his second straight 30 stolen base-home run home season,
But that’s not good enough. All-Star and Gold Glove winner Andrés Giménez ( 0-for-4 two strikeouts) had a miserable three-game series. Again this is a team looking for answers as they departed and returned home to Cleveland to host the Texas Rangers.
Andrés Giménez strikes out in Guardians-Yankees game at Yankee Stadium – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/ Latino Sports
“We’re not hitting many fastballs now,” said manager Stephen Voght. “I think it’s been a tough week. We had a tough road trip offensively. We ran into tough pitching and also didn’t have great at-bats at the same time. Every team is going to go through a little stretch like this. It was a tough week for us.”
He said, “We must regroup and be what we are. We are a good offensive team, we’ve shown that the whole year.”
But the Guardians suddenly have the second worst team OPS (.639) in the second half. And losing gave the Yankees a tiebreaker if the two teams eventually finish with the same records as division winners, which of course looms to be important when it comes to October postseason baseball.
But for now that is not a concern for the Guardians. They have six weeks to get their offense back to par and win the division. An AL Wild card spot is in their hands, then again they have proved they can beat division winners as they have done all season.
José Ramírez is hitting .273 this season with 32 HR, and 101 RBI – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
It’s getting over this series that saw the Guardians compile five hits in the last two games of the series after scoring six times in the 12th inning in their 9-5 win Tuesday night, also a four-hour marathon and longest game in the pitch clock era.
“Cole is tough in all spots,” said Kwan. “The Yankees are good as well. We know what we are capable of and will get this together. It’s baseball and you can’t win 162 games. You win some, you lose some.”
And that was the sentiment of a team that hopes to regroup at home. They will also need more length out of their starters, as the Yankees pounded on right-hander Gavin Williams (4,1 innings, 4 hits, 3 runs, 5 K’s) and the solo home run to Judge in the fourth inning.
“You can’t make bad pitches to them,” Williams said. “They hit your mistakes. Not concerned.”
Aaron Judge hits a home run in Guardians-Yankees at Yankee Stadium – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
He also said you can’t win them all. But there has to be a concern with the Royals keeping pace and AL Wild Card race that is beginning to get tight because the Guardians have hit their skid.
Rich Mancuso is senior writer and contributor to Latinosports.com – X (Twitter) @Ring786, Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
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