Three Observations From Guardians Loss To Tigers, 8-2

Tarik Skubal gives up a career-high ten hits to the Cleveland Guardians as the Detroit Tigers take the series opener.

Jul 22, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Detroit Tigers third baseman Matt Vierling (8) slides into second with a double as Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio (4) is late with the tag during the seventh inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians dropped another game in their series opener with the Detroit Tigers on Monday night, 8-2. 

Even though the Guardians lost, they did take some baby steps in getting the offense back on track. Here are three observations and takeaways from Monday’s loss. 

Angel Martinez Still Has Much To Learn In Center Field

Angel Martinez has been impressive on offense and defense since being called up by the Guardians. However, this game made it clear that he still has some to learn if Cleveland plans to use him as an everyday center fielder.

In the second inning, Martinez misplayed a ball hit by Jake Rogers and allowed it to skip past him. This allowed Wenceel Perez to score from third and Rogers to run all around the bases and get a Little League home run. (Technically, it was ruled a triple and an error.) 

Jul 22, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians center fielder Angel Martinez (1) misplays a ball hit by Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers (not pictured) during the second inning at Progressive Field. Rogers ended up with a triple and scoring on a throwing error by Martinez. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Then, in the sixth inning, Martinez broke in on a high fly ball instead of taking his first step back. This allowed the ball to drop just in front of the warning track. The ball may not have ended up being catchable, but Martinez didn’t even give himself a chance with how he played it. 

The position is still new for Martinez, and he’ll only improve with more reps. He only started playing the outfield in the minors until earlier this season and came up through the system as a middle infielder. But that still can’t be an excuse when it’s costing the team runs at the big-league level. 

Signs Of Life From The Guardians’ Offense

The good from this game is that the Guardians were finally making some contact and getting on base. They tagged Tarik Skubal for a season-high ten hits in his 7.0 innings and worked some good, patient at-bats against him, too. 

The bad here is that, despite getting runners on base, Cleveland couldn’t drive them in. The Guardians left 12 runners on base and hit 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. One of their runs came on an Austin Hedges surprise bunt, and the other was an unearned run in the ninth inning when the Tigers failed to convert a double-play.

However, when you only record three hits over an 18-inning stretch, there were certainly some positives to take away, even though the Guardians lost.

Tyler Freeman’s Solid Night

Tyler Freeman started at second base for the first time this season as Stephen Vogt looked to match him up with the lefty. 

That game plan worked well for the Guardians as Freeman recorded a three-hit game. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to come around and score on any of those base hits. Freeman also made a couple of nice defensive plays at second base. 

At this point, the Guardians are going to need to play the hot bats. If Freeman is going to hit when he’s in the lineup. Stephen Vogt needs to play him, whether in the outfield or infield.