Everybody had their eyes on the trade deadline.
The Cleveland Guardians, however, had a game to play on Tuesday afternoon.
Fortunately for them, they were able to successfully navigate it, shutting out the Detroit Tigers 5-0.
BALLGAME! The Guardians sweep the two-game series over the Tigers and take the season series over Detroit with a 5-0 win. Cleveland maintains the American League's best record at 65-42. Photo: AP pic.twitter.com/DccA5wtRkJ
— Cleveland Guardians Baseball (@GuardiansTalk) July 30, 2024
The game marked the debut of new outfielder Lane Thomas, acquired late on Monday, from the second spot of the lineup.
He went 1-for-4 with a run and two strikeouts.
The real stars of the afternoon were Gavin Williams, Jose Ramirez, and Josh Naylor.
The former gave Cleveland five shutout innings from the mound, walking one and striking out eight.
The two sluggers contributed home runs in the victory.
Pinch-hitter Brayan Rocchio also went yard in the game, while Tyler Freeman had two hits, one of them a double.
The Guardians’ vaunted bullpen, arguably the best in the league, completed the job: Tim Herrin, Nick Sandlin, Cade Smith, and Emmanuel Clase sealed the deal.
Fans were paying attention to the Guardians’ trade deadline, as they felt the team needed more pieces to keep competing.
In addition to the Thomas acquisition, the organization was able to acquire pitcher Alex Cobb as rotation depth.
He will be available to pitch in August and is a sneaky good backend option for the rotation.
The feeling, however, is that the Guards needed more in the pitching staff.
For a game, at least, their pitchers were in absolute control, shutting down the hapless Tigers lineup and earning another win.
Only time will tell if the Guardians have enough to be players until the very end or if they fell short in their deadline pursuit of top-end talent.
NEXT: Guardians Get Starting Pitcher From The Giants Via Trade
