Guardians Starting Pitcher Sets New Career High In Dominant Outing

Luis Ortiz struck out 10 batters in his latest start with the Cleveland Guardians.

Tommy Wild | Apr 12, 2025

Apr 12, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Luis Ortiz (45) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

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Cleveland Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians saw something in Luis Ortiz when they traded for him during MLB's 2024 Winter Meetings.

Their flurry of moves to acquire the righty from the Pittsburgh Pirates included giving up Platinum Glove winner Andres. Gimenez

The reliever-turned-starter clearly had plenty of potential but largely struggled with his command through his first two starts of the 2025 season.

That wasn't the case on Saturday night as Ortiz carved up the Kansas City Royals with arguably the best start of his career.

The right-hander gave up just one earned run and one hit, walked two batters, and struck out a new career-high 10 batters in 5.2 innings of work.

Yeah, that works.#GuardsBall | #Guardians pic.twitter.com/gjEPubUNy2
— Cleveland Guardians On SI (@GuardiansOnSI) April 12, 2025

Ortiz absolutely pounded the zone from the first batter in the first inning to the final hitter he faced in the sixth. He threw 100 pitches and 64 of those pitches registered as strikes.

What made this start so impressive wasn't just Ortiz's pitches hitting the zone; he was also generating a ton of swings and misses by Royals hitters. Ortiz generated 17 whiffs once his final book was closed.

No one will deny that Ortiz had a tough start to the year, giving up seven earned runs to the San Diego Padres during Cleveland's opening road trip.

However, he's really settled in since that outing, as he's given up just four runs over the last 11.2 innings and is proving why the Guardians wanted him as a member of their rotation for the 2025 season and into the future.

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