Stephen Vogt did not need much time to identify the exact issue that cost his team another game Tuesday, and it is one that has followed the Guardians for the better part of the season. After a 6-4 loss to the Tigers in the opener of a crucial series in Detroit, Cleveland’s manager pointed directly to the same problem that has undermined the team all season, one that turned a night filled with baserunners into another frustrating result on the scoreboard.
Vogt did not hesitate when asked to diagnose what continues to hold his offense back.
“We’re doing a lot of things really well,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said of his lineup. “It seems to be the runners in scoring position that continues to give us fits.”
Vogt made clear he still believes in the overall process, praising the amount of things his lineup is doing well even as the results in the most important moments continue to lag behind. The numbers back up exactly what he described. The Guardians tallied nine hits and seven walks against Detroit, essentially reaching base once every inning, yet went 0-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners on the night. That kind of empty traffic has become a season-long trend rather than an isolated bad night, with Cleveland entering Tuesday hitting just .219 in those spots over its previous 17 games, ranked 25th in the majors, and sitting 29th in the league in OPS with runners in scoring position for the season as a whole.
Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana each spoke to the mental challenge of those moments, with DeLauter explaining that hitters need to approach an at-bat with a runner in scoring position the same way they would with the bases empty, simply looking for a good pitch to drive rather than pressing to do more than necessary.
The loss dropped the Guardians to a season-high four games below .500 at 58-62, now 7-16 since the All-Star break and just 1-6 since their flurry of trade deadline additions. With the club sitting two games back of the final Wild Card spot and Vogt already having called a team meeting to address the group’s mentality, the message from the manager remains consistent even as the losses mount. Whether that patience pays off will depend entirely on whether Cleveland can finally start converting the opportunities it keeps creating.
NEXT: Former Guardians First Rounder Begins Double-A Career On A High Note
