Cleveland Baseball Insider

The Unlikely Heroes During The Guardians Recent Roadtrip

Austin Hedges, Kirk McCarty, and Bryan Shaw all played a big part in the Guardians' success while they were on the road.

Tommy Wild

In this story:

The Guardians just wrapped up a three-city, 11-game road trip in which the team went six and five. The usual suspects (such as Steven Kwan, Andres Gimenez, and Jose Ramirez) showed up to help the team come out of it with a winning record. 

But they also got some production from players fans may not normally expect to be big contributors in these big wins. Let's give them the credit they deserve!

Austin Hedges

Austin Hedges was a big piece in a couple of the Guardians' wins. This comes at a time when rumors about the Guardians trading for a new catcher continue to pop up before the Tuesday deadline. 

Hedges' first big game came in Boston last Tuesday. In that game, he hit a solo home run over the Green Monster that helped the Guardians get the 8-3 victory. He also scored a run and had an RBI the following day which also led to a Guardians win.

Then came the series down in Tampa Bay. Hedges had a quiet game one with just a walk and sat the second game. But he was massive in the series and finale that clinched the series win. 

In the fifth inning with two outs, the bases loaded, and the game tied, Hedges had a great at-bat and blooped a ball to center field. To runners scored and the Guardians retook the lead 5-3.

This would go on to be the final score of the game and the Guardians would get the series victory. 

Kirk McCarty

Kirk McCarty, take a bow! After being designated for assignment by the club just under a month ago, McCarty made two relief appearances during the road trip and both games resulted in wins for the team. 

McCarty pitched four innings against the Red Sox and didn't give up a run, only allowed one hit, and had four strikeouts. Then against the Rays, he pitched just over three innings and had a pair of strikeouts, and only allowed one run. 

This could be a sign that he has found a role on this team. 

Bryan Shaw

If you would have told me over the All-Star break that Bryan Shaw would be starting two games during this road trip, there is a 100 percent chance I wouldn't have believed you. Well, that's what happened. But to his credit, Shaw looked solid in both starts. 

Granted he didn't pitch into the third inning of either game, but he still did his job and ate up innings for the team. Shaw has been a relief pitcher his entire career but looked comfortable stepping into the opening role.

The Guardians come home to open up an interleague series with the Arizona Diamondbacks at Progressive Field. 

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Tommy Wild
TOMMY WILD

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