Three Observations From Guardians Loss To Rays, 2-0

The Cleveland Guardians have now lost six of their last ten games after losing to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Jul 12, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) beats Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Richie Palacios (1) to first base for an out in the second inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians are officially in a slide. They’ve now lost four out of their last ten games, with their latest defeat coming in their series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night, 2-0.

Here are three observations and takeaways from Cleveland’s loss. 

Daniel Schneeman Supplied The Offense 

The Guardians were shut out on the road, and the offense was largely silent throughout the night. However, Daniel Schneemann did provide Cleveland with a boost with his bat.

Schneemann went 2-for-3 from the plate, including a double in the seventh inning. Outside of the this no other player had a multi-hit night, and only three other players recorded a hit against Tampa Bay pitching.

As a team, it was a rough night at the plate. But it was nice to see the Guardians get some offense from their starting shortstop.

Guardians Defense Difference Maker

Let’s put the abysmal night on offense aside for a second because the Guardians played some great defense behind starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco.

The Rays scored two runs all night, but it could easily have been more than that without some impressive defensive plays. Josh Naylor made an incredible play at first base in the third inning, perfectly timing up a ball hit off the bag at first base and running to beat out Richie Palacios.

The Guardians brought the infield in the bottom of the fifth inning, and Schneemann perfectly fielded a ball hit to him and threw out Yandy Diaz at home, who was running on contact. A similar play happened in the seventh inning as Jose Ramirez again threw out Diaz at home plate, saving another run.

That brings us to seventh inning when Jhonkensy Noel made a nice running catch to take extra bases away from Diaz, ended the inning, and precented Alex Jackson from scoring from second base.

Jul 12, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) beats Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Richie Palacios (1) to first base for an out in the second inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Xzavion Curry 

Xzavion Curry has had a rough year both in the minors and majors, but he came up big for the Guardians on Friday night despite the loss. 

Stephen Vogt gave Curry the ball in the seventh inning with only one out and the bases loaded. He struck out Josh Lowe and Jose Siri in back-to-back plate appearances to end the inning. He went

Not bad for a guy who was just recalled to the big league roster before the game.