It hasn’t been the best of years or the worst of years for the Cleveland Guardians. Currently, the team has a 59-64 record and is five games back of the Minnesota Twins for first place in the AL Central Division standings. This after splitting a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers on Friday in Cleveland (losing the first game 4-2 in the afternoon).
It was the second game with the team trailing 1-0 heading to the 8th inning which was concerning also. Many fans probably thought the Guardians were going to end up falling by a score of 1-0 and losing both games without any type of offense in either. However, there was a dramatic spark late in the second game.
Brayan Rocchio singled, scoring the tying run in Oscar Gonzalez. Then, after two wild pitch plays, Will Brennan doubled to deep center scoring both Rocchio and Kole Calhoun. With the score being 3-1, Gabriel Arias singled to right center scoring Roccio and making the score 4-1.
This is all the Guardians would need to win the second game with the final being 4-1 in Cleveland.
That 8th inning spark is what this team has been missing all season long and it goes to show they do have the ability to score runs, it’s just a matter of producing them in a timely fashion late in games like this one against the Tigers.
Sure, the pitching may end up blowing the lead late in games anyway. However, giving the ball club a chance to win is the job of the offense, the spark. We saw that on Saturday night and hope it continues throughout the rest of the season.
The Guardians have just about 40 games left to go in this season. Thus, it’s really going to take some great hitting for them to have any chance at contending for a playoff spot down five games in the division.
This time, the team was able to hang on with great pitching throughout the entire night. Let’s see more of that consistency too. But, one thing at a time. Right?