Offense Struggles Again, Guardians Drop Series Opener To Tigers

The Cleveland Guardians scored two runs against the Detroit Tigers.

The Cleveland Guardians' offense continues to look for something, anything that will give them a spark and get them going. They even tried starting David Fry at first base with a left-handed pitcher on the mound. 

But, that didn't happen on Monday night as they watched the Detroit Tigers jump on pitch after pitch and come away with a 6-2 victory to take the series opener.

See ya tomorrow. #Guardians | #ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/ebuqh5t6T3

— Cleveland Guardians On SI (@GuardiansOnSI) May 9, 2023

Tanner Bibee took the mound for the Guardians. The rookie, who looked impressive in his first two starts, was faced with his first real adversity at the MLB level. Bibee struggled with his command walking four batters and the strikes he did throw were crushed by Tigers hitters. 

Cleveland's starter gave up four runs on seven hits in the 3.2 innings he pitched. Bibee allowed six hard-hit balls, according to Baseball Savant, highlighting how on top of him the Tigers were. 

Yes, Bibee could've pitched better. However, the offense needs to come around and pick him up to take some of the pressure off. That's something the Guardians couldn't do on Monday night.

Cleveland's offense finished with just two runs and six hits. Steven Kwan scored in the first inning when Jose Ramirez grounded into a double play. The other run came in the fourth inning when Jose hit a solo home run.

The Guardians had their chances too. They left eight runners on base and had runners in scoring position in both the seventh and eighth inning but couldn't get them across. 

Terry Francona commented on these missed opportunities after the game saying, "We're not keeping the line moving. Even when we get started. We just got to keep the line going." 

The Guardians have a chance to tie up the series on Tuesday evening with Shane Bieber on the bump.

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