The Cleveland Guardians are officially the hottest team in baseball.
Arguments from other clubs are invalidated when you realize that Cleveland has won five straight games and eight of their last nine.
You can see it has been a complete team effort, and we are not talking about the guys on the field exclusively: everybody in the organization, from the player development staff to the coaches and the manager also deserve a lot of credit, not to mention the front office led by Chris Antonetti.
On Tuesday, an underrated offseason signing, Ben Lively, gave the team an incredible start and put them in position to fight until the end for the victory.
That’s exactly what the Guardians did: after falling behind 1-0 in the seventh inning, they scored four runs in the last couple of frames to complete the comeback against the Boston Red Sox.
Lively was crucial in keeping the Red Sox mostly at bay.
It was his second start of the season, and the results were wonderful:
Ben Lively did what Ben Lively needed to do. 👏#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/kmEi9LTfmL
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) April 23, 2024
He pitched 6.1 frames and conceded a single run on five hits on the night.
He didn’t walk anyone and struck out seven batters at Progressive Field.
Since the Guards mounted their comeback after he left the mound, he couldn’t qualify for the win.
Still, it was a courageous performance that likely earned him another start while Gavin Williams finishes his rehab.
For the year, Lively now has a 2.38 ERA in two outings and 11.1 innings.
The best part of his statistical profile is his 14 strikeouts against one walk.
As far as depth arms go, Lively is a very good one to have around.
NEXT: Top Guardians Prospect Is Dominating In The Minors
