The Cleveland Guardians emerged from spring training with a five-man starting rotation that was led by Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee. Slade Cecconi held on to his role, while Joey Cantillo, Parker Messick and Logan Allen battled it out for the final two spots.
Allen was ultimately the odd man out, and since then, Messick has become one of the best pitchers in baseball to begin his first full MLB season. Unfortunately, Cecconi has gone the other way, with his latest outing the most disappointing of his underwhelming season so far.
Facing the Houston Astros at Progressive Field on Monday, Cecconi gave up seven runs and 10 hits in five innings, sending the Guardians on their way to a 9-2 loss. The performance dropped the right-hander’s record to 0-3 and boosted his ERA to 6.20.
Afterward, Cecconi got honest about his start to the season, and he expressed confidence that it will turn around.
“It’s going to make me better at the end of the day. I’m planning on playing this game for a long time. Experiences like this will make me better, regardless of how I feel right now about it, because obviously the emotions at the moment are a little high,” Cecconi said. “I’m not thrilled with how things are going in terms of the results I’ve been getting, and giving my team a chance to win ballgames. But it will make me better, and I will be back to exactly who I was in spring soon.”
The Guardians have not won any of their five starts, which has played a role in their failure to win more than two games in a row at any point this season. Cleveland was trying for its first three-game winning streak against Houston, after taking three of four games against the Baltimore Orioles with their other starters.
Cecconi’s struggles arose right away this season. In the opening series finale against the Seattle Mariners, he gave up six runs over 4.1 innings in an 8-0 loss. His best start of the season followed, allowing one run to the Chicago Cubs over six innings in a 1-0 loss.
Since then, he gave up five runs in five innings to the Atlanta Braves in an 11-5 loss, and one run in four innings of a 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, before this outing against Houston. His next start would be at the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.
Last season, Cecconi finished 7-7 with a 4.30 ERA following an injury-delayed start to the campaign, so if he doesn’t turn it around soon, the Guardians may have to look for an alternative to replace him.
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