Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt is putting together a strong case for Manager of the Year already, and a big reason why is because of how consistently he hypes up his players and has their backs both in front of the media and in the clubhouse.
Vogt had a lot of great things to say regarding starting pitcher Ben Lively, who twirled 5.2 innings of 2-run ball on Saturday to pick up the win in the 6-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
In the postgame press conference, Vogt said that “Ben was outstanding today” and that he felt like he had the zip back on his fastball with some sharp breaking balls as well.
"Ben was outstanding today. I felt like he had the zip back on his fastball today."
Stephen Vogt knew Ben Lively would bounce back after his last start in Toronto.#ForTheLand | @CleGuardians pic.twitter.com/56Jt7RIgrh
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) June 22, 2024
Lively was coming off a rough outing last Sunday against the Miami Marlins and took the loss, giving up four runs in just four innings of work.
Lively continues to be one of this team’s bright spots and now sports a 7-3 record with a 3.03 ERA, a stellar accomplishment given the fact that Lively had just eight career wins under his belt across seven years coming into this season.
These are the types of performances that great teams know how to find, as Lively had never performed to this level prior to this year at any point during his career, but the Guardians found something and have leaned on him tremendously ever since ace Shane Bieber went down with Tommy John surgery.
Lively will look to keep it rolling in his next start, which is projected to be on Thursday in Kansas City as they take on the Royals.
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