Three Observations From Guardians Loss To Pirates, 3-0

Matthew Boyd had a great start for the Cleveland Guardians despite losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Aug 31, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) throws out Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds (10) during the sixth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians and Pittsburgh Pirates will play a rubber match on Sunday afternoon as the Pirates won the second game of their series, 3-0.

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

Matthew Boyd Stellar Again

Matthew Boyd has been the best part of Cleveland's second half of the season. He's been phenomenal since he came off the injured list after rehabbing from Tommy John surgery last year, and he put together another fantastic start on Saturday.

Boyd gave up just one earned run and four hits in 6.0 innings of work against the Pirates. The biggest takeaway from this start was the rate at which he was punching guys out. Boyd finished with eight strikeouts and finished with 18 swings and misses, with ten of those coming off his change-up.

Boyd has already exceeded Cleveland's exepcations from when it signed him late in June.

Aug 31, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Little Things Matter More

The Guardians' best chance at scoring runs came in the seventh inning when Josh Naylor doubled to start the inning, and David Fry walked just a batter later. Cleveland had two runners on with only one out as Pittsburgh was trying to figure out what to do with its bullpen.

Lane Thomas was the next man up and hit a towering fly ball to left field. For a second, it looked like the ball was going to deflect off the wall, but Bryan Reynolds made a tremendous leaping catch.

Naylor misread the play and was rounding third base when the catch was made. Reynolds threw that ball in and Naylor was easily doubled up at second base, ending the inning.

Cleveland's offense has remained inconsistent since the All-Star Break, and runs have been hard to come by. This makes the little things, such as baserunning, the difference between wins and losses.

Can't Catch Up To The Fastball

The Guardian's offense had no answer for Luis Ortiz all night as he found a groove with his four-seam fastball, cutter, sinker, and slider pitch mix. Cleveland only collected one hit off Ortiz, a single in the fifth inning, thanks to Bo Naylor.

Ortiz wasn't the only one to find success with the heater. Aroldis Chapman came on in the ninth inning to put the game away and easily shut out Cleveland, striking out two of the three batters he faced.

This is concerning because the Guardians have had trouble hitting changeups over the last few weeks. Now, they couldn't time up the heater either.