Three Observations From Guardians Win Over Marlins, 6-3

Tyler Freeman's three-run homer helped the Cleveland Guardians beat the Miami Marlins in the series finale.

Jun 9, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Cleveland Guardians center fielder Tyler Freeman (2) hits a single against the Miami Marlins in the ninth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians win another series after taking down the Miami Marlins in Sunday's finale, 6-3.

Here are three observations and takeaways from Cleveland’s latest win.

Carlos Carrasco Struggles Second Time Through Order

Carlos Carrasco’s final line was average. He pitched 4.2 innings, gave up four hits, struck out three batters, and gave up two earned runs. Cookie was great the first time through Miami's order but ran into some trouble the second time he saw them.

The Marlins didn’t have a hit through the first three innings. However, Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered to lead off the fourth and that’s when everything fell apart. 

Brayan De La Cruz reached base on a double right after the game but luckily didn’t come around to score. Then in the fifth inning, Xzavier Edwards doubled and was driven in by a Nick Goron base hit. 

Guardians Take Advantage Of Opportunities

The Guardians dropped the series opener in large part because of not taking advantage of hitting with RISP. This wasn’t the case in the finale as Cleveland was .375 in this situation. The biggest hit of them all was a Tyler Freeman three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Yes, Cleveland got a nice break after a throwing error by Jake Burger (which had a good chance of being an inning-ending double player) allowed Brayan Rocchio to move to third base and Steven Kwan to second. But the Guardians still had to convert following the miscue and that’s exactly what they did.

Situational hitting is how you win baseball games and Cleveland showed that on Sunday.

Jun 9, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Cleveland Guardians center fielder Tyler Freeman (2) gets hit by a pitch in the arm in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Emmanuel Clase Is Human

Emmanuel Clase entered the ninth inning with an ERA of .30 on the season. He quickly recorded the first two outs in the ninth inning thanks to a flyout and struck out. However, Burger hit a 100 mph cutter the opposite way which carried over the right field wall for a home run.

This was the first homer that Clase has given up this season and his second total earned run of the season.

Clase has easily been baseball’s best closer this season, but even this one mistake proved that he’s still human.