What We Learned About Guardians After Sweeping Twins

The Cleveland Guardians starting pitching, Jose Ramirez, Will Brennan, and Tyler Freeman shined in their sweep over the Minnesota Twins.

May 19, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Will Brennan (17) celebrates after hitting a walk off three run home run during the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Sweeping a team is always enjoyable, especially when they're your division rival. That’s exactly what the Cleveland Guardians did to the Minnesota Twins over the weekend.

A lot happened in this series so let's get into what we learned about the Guardians. 

Guardians Starting Pitching Finding Form

The offense got a lot of attention against the Twins, but the starting pitching is what set the tone and led to the series' victory.

The trio of Trison McKenzie, Logan Allen, and Tanner Bibee combined to pitch 19.2 innings, give up two runs, and strike out 20 batters against the Twins. 

McKenzie threw 6.2 innings and allowed one run while striking out five. Allen lasted 6.0 innings, didn’t give up a run, and struck out seven. Bibee pitched 7.0 innings, gave up one run, and struck out eight.

The Guardians have been searching for some consistency in their rotation all season. This is proof that they’re headed in the right direction. 

Dominance from Bibee!#Guardians | #ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/wE7jhtimAU

— Cleveland Baseball Insider (@CBI_FanNation) May 19, 2024

Guardians Can Hit Against A Top Closer

Jhoan Duran entered this series with an ERA of 0.00. That would spike to a 4.15 by the time the Guardians were done with him. 

Twins manager Rocco Baldellio chose to put Duran on the mound in the eighth inning of a tie ballgame in the series opener so he could face the heart of Cleveland’s order. Jose Ramirez had other plans and hit a go-ahead home run off the Twins’ top reliever.

Duran took the mound again in the ninth inning of the series finale. With the game tied at two, Minnesota decided to intentionally walk Josh Naylor to get to Will Brennan. Just like Ramirez, Brennan hit a game-winning home run to clinch a sweep for Cleveland.

This type of performance over multiple games can do wonders for the confidence of a team.

May 19, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Will Brennan (17) celebrates after hitting a walk off three run home run during the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler Freeman Settling In At Leadoff

Just like taking on the challenge of transitions to the outfield, Tyler Freeman has been given an opportunity and done nothing but succeed with it.

Since taking over as the Guaridans' leadoff hitter, Freeman has a batting average of .346 and an on-base percentage of .469. He finished the series against Minnesota with a .416 batting average including a four-for-four, three RBI game on Saturday night.

If Freeman keeps this up, Stephen Vogt may need to get creative once Steven Kwan returns from the injured list.