Guardians Salvage One In Detroit; Takeaways From Series, Pitching, And Offense

The Guardians wrapped up their six-game road trip with a win, but nothing is coming easy for the club right now.

After salvaging just one game in Detroit, the Cleveland Guardians are heading back home for a six-game home stand. The club went 3-3 while on the road with a series win over the Nationals, and dropped the other to the Tigers.

The Guardians only victory in Motown came thanks to one swing of the bat by José Ramírez in the sixth inning with the go-ahead three-run blast. The Tigers would cut into the lead with two solo shots in the seventh off Trevor Stephan and eighth inning off James Karinchak, respectively, making the final score 3-2.

Don't disrespect the 🐐 again.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/rUDpt32Yd7

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) April 19, 2023

The club scored just six runs over the three games at Comerica Park with each decision coming from the margin of just one run. While the team heads back with a 10-9 record, this series highlighted the current challenges the club is facing between injury and roster construction. 

Starting Pitching

The obvious here is of course in the injuries -- something every team deals with, but has hit the starting rotation particularly hard. The team is down two starters in Triston McKenzie and Aaron Civale, and the options to fill those roles have been lacking.

The Guardians announced earlier on Wednesday that they optioned Hunter Gaddis to Triple-A following another rough outing. In his six starts in the big leagues between this year and last, Gaddis had a 10.80 ERA and allowed 37 hits, 30 runs, and a 1.84 WHIP in 25 innings pitched.

Peyton Battenfield, who has two starts on the season and slid in for Civale, has fared better than Gaddis since making his debut this year. While not yet coming out on the winning side of a start, he's sporting a 1.69 ERA and 0.94 WHIP through 10.2 innings pitched and has allowed seven hits, three runs, and three walks with eight strikeouts. 

Now, the team will need to add yet another new starting pitcher to the rotation to replace Gaddis. No decision has been made yet on who will get the nod.

Bullpen 

Outside of the starting rotation, the bullpen has also faced its own set of struggles this season. They have shown flashes, but getting the clean 1-2-3 innings have been somewhat of a novelty as of late -- even in today's win.

Emmanuel Clase came in for the save in the ninth, and allowed back-to-back singles to give the Tigers hope for the comeback before getting the next three outs with help from the defense. 

And speaking of comebacks, James Karinchak has been victim to the long ball a few times through his 11 appearances -- notably after being rattled in Seattle for their Opener and giving up a three-run spot. Then, in yesterday's game in which he gave up a walk-off home run. 

The club is still missing and awaiting the return of left-hander Sam Hentges who has been shut down since the beginning of March due to swelling and inflammation in his shoulder.

Hentges was a strong performer for the club last season with a 2.32 ERA in 62.0 innings pitched. Hentges really helped anchor the backend of the bullpen and even took over in high leverage situations last season while Karinchak got some work in down in Triple-A.

Offense

The team that thrives on contact combined for 17 hits through 27 innings in Detroit for a total of six runs. The Guardians did not score in the second game of the doubleheader, and in the other two games they scored on a three-run home run in each with no additional support either day. 

Coming into the game, the club was second to last in all of baseball for home runs. They are smack dab in the middle for hits, but top 10 for both doubles (tied for eighth with 37), and triples (tied for fourth with four).

The team is walking and is tied for third with 82 on the year, and also tied for fifth lowest in strikeouts. But, are 20th in all of baseball for runs scored with 80 -- the last place team being the Tigers. 

The lineup has seen its fair set of shakeups through the first 19 games of the season between the platoon combos, a heavy dose of left-handed starters, and the recent absence of Amed Rosario who is day-to-day.

A few glaring issues have been on display with the lack of depth in middle infielders on the bench. While the team has carried three catchers on the roster, its put strain on the options in which the team can pinch-hit in late innings depending on the starting lineup for that day.

Tyler Freeman was recalled on Tuesday to help reinforce the roster, and then didn't play in the second game out of caution after having a collision at second base. The team recalled highly-touted prospect Brayan Rocchio for Wednesday's game, but he did not make an appearance.

In seasons past, the Guardians carried versatile utility players that are no longer on the roster and right now, Gabriel Arias is really the only one solely in that role. Now, the team's depth has been thinned further and will continue to be until they decide to drop one of the backup catchers.

Looking Ahead

The club sits one game back of the Minnesota Twins for first place in the division and will start a three-game series at home with the Marlins on Friday. That will be followed up by a series with the Rockies before hitting the road for three in Boston as well as New York.

Their next divisional matchup and first with the Twins will begin on Friday, May 5, to kick off a nine-game home stand.

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Read More:

"Worth It:" Cal Quantrill Appears Alright After Scary Play In Guardians Win Over Tigers

Guardians Lose 4-3 On Walk-off Home Run

Josh Bell Is Heating Up, What It Means For The Guardians

Guardians-Tigers Postponed, Doubleheader Tuesday

Cleveland Guardians 2023 Top 50 Prospects, No. 36 OF Alexfri Planez

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