The Cleveland Guardians bullpen allowed just two runs in 7.1 innings of work on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, both on solo home runs.
They also enjoyed a three-hit night by Andres Gimenez and a home run by the surging Lane Thomas.
Still, they lost 7-2 to LA as their weekend series is now tied.
In the end, the Guardians were unable to overcome a lousy night by their starter, Gavin Williams, and that ended up costing them the game.
The right-hander could only get two outs and surrendered five earned runs on two hits and three walks, with no strikeouts.
The young pitcher explained that he just couldn’t throw strikes against a consistently great lineup and that ended up affecting his final line.
Gavin Williams explains what went wrong in his outing tonight and what he can do to fix it. #ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/TTjv4SCBSC
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) September 8, 2024
With the lousy performance, Williams’ ERA is now back up to 5.25, a rather concerning development for the Guardians in what has been an otherwise positive stretch by their rotation.
The Dodgers scored a whopping six runs in that opening frame, so the Guardians’ offense never had much of a chance.
Kyle Manzardo and Daniel Schneemann doubled, but leadoff hitter Steven Kwan is still struggling and his batting average is down to .288.
The Guardians will try to take the tough series in Los Angeles on Sunday, starting at 4:10 pm ET.
Tanner Bibee will take the hill for Cleveland, looking to bring down his ERA from an already solid 3.56.
He will be facing tough right-hander Jack Flaherty, acquired from the Detroit Tigers via trade ahead of the deadline.
NEXT: Guardians Are Shooting For A Playoff Bye And The Odds Are In Their Favor
