The Cleveland Guardians could certainly use another reliable hurler right now.
With Ben Lively sustaining a strained right forearm, there’s officially a spot up for grabs in the team’s rotation.
And if Saturday’s outing was a sign of things to come, perhaps Slade Cecconi might be the right guy to lead the way.
Cecconi excelled in his first official appearance with his new team.
He struck out eight, allowed five hits, and didn’t walk a hitter in five frames in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
Following the loss, manager Stephen Vogt had nothing but praise for his hurler:
“We couldn’t have asked for much more from Slade [Cecconi],” said manager Stephen Vogt. “It was his first real start since last year. I really like the mixture sinker, breaking balls and changeups.”
Cecconi is now just the third pitcher in franchise history to strike out eight or more hitters without walking anybody in his franchise debut, joining the likes of Floyd Weaver and Tanner Bibee, who did it in 1962 and 2023, respectively.
The team took things slowly with him, and they pulled him after 77 pitches, 52 of which were strikes.
Cecconi made three minor league appearances before a strained left oblique shut him down for the early stretch of the regular season.
He looked dominant and in control in his first start of the season, making the most of his vast repertoire of fastballs, curves, cutters, sliders, changeups, and sinkers.
His velocity maxed out at 98.3 mph.
Now, the Guardians will most likely roll with him for however long Lively is out, and his next chance to get on the mound will come on Friday when they face the division leaders, the Detroit Tigers, in the midst of a must-win series.
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