On Wednesday, the Cleveland Guardians won a close 3-2 game against the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field.
The White Sox were literally one hamstring away from tying the game against Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, though.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Miguel Vargas hit a single that should have scored two runs and tied things in the ninth.
Jacob Amaya scored from third, but Mike Tauchman pulled his hamstring on his way home and was easily tagged out by the catcher after a throw from left fielder Steven Kwan.
Clase now has a 6.00 ERA and has conceded three runs in his last three games.
His manager thinks he could do better hitting his spots or coming up with a different game plan, but still believes Clase is the best at what he does.
“Emmanuel Clase is still the best pitcher in the world. He’s got to make some adjustments, pitch a little bit differently, or maybe get back to hitting his spots,” Stephen Vogt said after the game, per Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan.
Emmanuel Clase and the #Guardians escaped tonight – manager Stephen Vogt & catcher Austin Hedges on their closer still being the “best in the world” pic.twitter.com/1rAJbgNScO
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) April 10, 2025
The skipper was kind and smart enough to credit the opposition for managing to inflict damage on the closer in the early stages of the season.
“These teams are good. They have their game plan, and they’re getting to him,” he explained.
Catcher Austin Hedges also discussed how the rest of the league made some adjustments when facing Clase, and now it’s his turn to adjust back and perhaps alter the way he approaches hitters.
Baseball is, after all, a game of constant adjustments.
The fact remains that Cleveland needs 2024’s version of Clase (the one who put up a 0.61 ERA) or at least something close to it to have a chance at rekindling last year’s magic.
NEXT: Guardians Relief Prospect Trending Towards A Call-Up
