The Cleveland Guardians managed to beat Pablo Lopez and the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, in their series opener.
To do that, they needed timely hitting, excellent bullpen performance, and of course a top start by Tanner Bibee.
Bibee, the 2023 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up, had a mediocre first start of the year against the Oakland Athletics.
On Thursday, however, he redeemed himself and achieved a cool personal best.
“Tanner Bibee tied his career high in strikeouts on Thursday in Minnesota,” Bally Sports Cleveland tweeted.
Tanner Bibee tied his career high in strikeouts on Thursday in Minnesota ⛽️#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/L52Gn389Sr
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) April 5, 2024
Bibee pitched 5.1 innings and conceded a run on five hits.
He didn’t hurt himself with walks, and his nine strikeouts helped him successfully navigate the Twins lineup.
Strikeouts are the best kind of outs for pitchers because they don’t have to rely on external factors associated to batted balls, such as luck.
That’s why they are so coveted.
In this case, Bibee had an inspired day against their top divisional foes.
The Twins couldn’t figure out his arsenal, and even though Bibee couldn’t give the Guardians much length, he was able to dominate and keep his team in the game.
That gives the offense a chance to do its job, which ended up happening.
For the year, Bibee’s ERA is now 3.86, which is good but not great like his 2.98 mark last year.
He still has a 1.71 WHIP, which needs to slowly come down.
He is slowly rounding into form, which is great to see since the team needs him at his best to navigate through the tough season ahead.
NEXT: Analyst Notes 2 Guardians Players Leading MLB
