Cleveland Guardians' Starting Pitching Is Even Worse Than You Think
The Cleveland Guardians lost their third straight game on Tuesday night, falling to the Seattle Mariners by a score of 8-5.
Guardians pitcher Triston McKenzie lasted just 2.1 innings in the defeat, allowing four runs on three hits and four walks. On top of that, he didn't log a single strikeout, and his ERA ballooned to 4.48 after getting shelled.
It was just the latest putrid outing for a Cleveland starting pitching staff that has been among the worst in baseball over the first half of the 2024 MLB season.
Only two of the Guardians' starters boast sub-3 ERAs. Two of them lay claim to ERAs over 5. Yes, the Shane Bieber injury definitely threw a wrench into things, but even if he were healthy and available, the starting rotation would still be a problem for Cleveland.
Over the last three weeks, the Guardians have played 17 games. Their starting pitchers have only made it to the seventh inning once during that span (none made it to the eighth), and only twice have they made it through the sixth. They are lasting 4.2 innings on average during this stretch (h/t Zack Meisel of The Athletic).
Cleveland may be 44-26 and it may sit in first place in the AL Central by a comfortable 4.5 games (six in the loss column), but it seems hard to imagine the ballclub maintaining its pace if the starting rotation remains this poor.
And you know what? It's already reflecting for the Guardians, who have gone just 4-6 over their last 10 and have allowed 20 runs in their current three-game skid.
Cleveland began a stretch of 26 games in 27 days on Tuesday evening, and the first 13 games of that run are particularly brutal. Ten of those contests come against teams with winning records (and the Guardians already lost the first one against the Mariners). That includes a three-game series in Baltimore beginning June 24 followed by a four-game road set against the division-rival Kansas City Royals.
Cleveland has had the best bullpen in baseball this year, but it's not difficult to see the pen getting taxed over the next month if the starters continue to plummet.
The Guardians need to find solutions. Bieber isn't returning this season, so it won't be him. They have around six weeks until the July 30 MLB trade deadline to search for answers. Miami Marlins lefty Jesus Luzardo has been mentioned as a possibility, but Luzardo himself has struggled with a 5.00 ERA through 12 starts.
The New York Yankees and the Orioles are the two best teams in the American League, and they both have something in common: extraordinary starting pitching.
Cleveland may have the third-best record in the AL, but based on its current starting rotation, it simply is not in the same class as the two AL East behemoths.
The Guardians must find an answer, and barring a major turnaround from someone like McKenzie or Logan Allen, it almost certainly isn't going to come internally.
MATTHEW SCHMIDT