The Cleveland Guardians are coming off of two of their most important wins of the season. With back-to-back walk-off victories in their showdown series with the Chicago White Sox, the Guardians moved back into first place in the tight AL Central race.
The way they finished those comebacks, with a bottom-of-the-ninth homer on Thursday and a 10th-inning single on Friday, deservedly drew most of the attention. But it is important to remember what made those outcomes possible, because they never could have happened without the Guardians’ bullpen.
Cleveland outfielder Steven Kwan rightfully noted that the Guardians could be taking that key unit for granted, saying their relief pitchers have been a force all season.
“They’ve been doing it all year,” Kwan told MLB.com. “I think we sometimes take it for granted in how well they do, how prepared they are as well.”
On Thursday, in the series opener at Progressive Field, Chicago built a 5-2 lead against Cleveland starter Slade Cecconi, who left the game after five innings. Relievers Daniel Espino, Shawn Armstrong and Tim Herrin held the White Sox scoreless from there, and the Guardians rallied with a seventh-inning home run from pinch hitter David Fry, setting the stage for Brayan Rocchio’s dramatic two-run, ninth-inning homer for a 6-5 win.
On Friday, Cleveland trailed 3-1 when starter Gavin Williams was removed after 4.2 innings, thanks to an almost two-hour rain delay. In his place, five relievers – Franco Aleman, Hunter Gaddis, Colin Holderman, Cade Smith and Erik Sabrowski – did not give up a run and allowed just one hit.
That gave the Guardians a chance to come back with seventh-inning runs on an RBI single and an error. After Sabrowski kept Chicago’s automatic runner on second base in the 10th inning, Cleveland moved Kwan to third base on a single by Travis Bazzana, and Khalil Watson drove him home with a single for the 3-2 victory.
In these two games, Guardians relievers have pitched 9.1 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits and one walk. The White Sox’s bullpen has allowed seven runs, eight hits and seven walks in 10 innings.
A discrepancy like that could make all the difference in deciding the division title.
NEXT: Guardians Reach Historic Walk-Off Milestone At Progressive Field
