CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Shane Bieber and the Cleveland Guardians walked a tight rope Tuesday night.
Bieber struck out a season high nine in six innings and Amed Rosario collected four hits, including an insurance RBI triple in the eighth inning, to help the Guardians beat the Detroit Tigers 2-0 at Progressive Field.
Here’s our Final 9 from another ace effort from the former Cy Young winner and a big night for Rosario.
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1. Bieber flirted with trouble all night, but he managed to work out of it, almost with ease. “I mean they had traffic it seemed like every inning and there were times when he needed strikeouts,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “There were times when he went and got 'em. That's a hard way to pitch. We're sitting on a one run lead, but he made it hold up.” Oddly enough, Bieber did not retire the side in order a single time, yet kept the Tigers off the scoreboard and made that 1-0 first inning lead hold up. “You try not to [look at the score], right, but it's a reality, so you're obviously aware of it,” Bieber said. “Ultimately, for me it boils down to innings pitched and team wins. So you're always aware of it. And tonight I was very aware of it, but couldn't keep that lead off guy off the base paths or couldn't buy a clean inning.”
2. Amed Rosario went 4-4, including a clutch two-out RBI triple to right in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Guardians an important insurance run and 2-0 lead. As he usually does in May, Rosario is getting hot after a cold April. “I think it's the warmth. I come from a place that is really warm,” Rosario said through an interpreter. “That's what I prepare and do everything on the warmth, but at the same time, you're going to put too much pressure or your responsibilities on that thinking. That's the reason you got to keep playing and see what the results come.”
3. For the second time in as many nights Steven Kwan led the game off with a double and Rosario followed with a single. Jose Ramirez hit a sac fly to center to score Kwan for a 1-0 lead. “I think it's rare for a younger guy to be able to handle what we've challenged him with,” Francona said of Kwan. “It's not just getting hits, it's seeing pitches, getting on base and for a young kid he's done a really good job. He doesn't get too high or too low. He makes the pitchers work so it helps other people in the lineup.”
4. Myles Straw potentially saved the game with an incredible catch in the eighth off the bat of Tigers left fielder Akil Baddoo. “I was all out on that ball - either all or nothing,” Straw said. Baddoo sent one deep to center right after Spencer Torkelson doubled to lead off the inning but Straw ran it down. “Kind of a momentum swing, Straw said. “I mean, I feel like Torkelson got that leadoff double and then that could have been another one. So a big part of the game. Our pitching staff did an amazing job, so it felt good to kind of pick those guys up.”
5. Will Brennan seems poised to make the most of his opportunity after Oscar Gonzalez was sent down last week. Brennan collected a pair of hits and in the top of the third he showed off his arm. After Torkelson singled to right, Brennan fired a strike to the plate to get Javier Baez, who was trying to score from second. “I'm not going to lie to you, I threw a splitter so it came out of my hand super weird and went above Naylor’s glove and just dropped straight down,” Brennan said. “So it worked out and it was an awesome tag by Cam [Gallagher] and credit to him.” The Tigers challenged the out call and lost. “That was a huge play for us,” Bieber said.
6. What is rarer than the Guardians scoring more than three runs in a game? Committing two defensive errors in nine innings. Jose Ramirez and Andres Gimenez are as sure handed as they come but both were charged with errors Tuesday night. Ramirez in the second inning and Gimenez in the fifth.
7. The Guardians bullpen combined to throw three scoreless innings and allow just two hits in the victory. James Karinchak, Sam Hentges and Trevor Stephan each the 2/3 of an inning before closer Emmanuel Clase slammed the door in the ninth.
8. Clase picked up his Major League leading 13th save of the season. His ERA is 1.77 with 11 strikeouts and five walks in 20 1/3 innings this season.
9. With Tuesday’s win, the Guardians improved to 6-17 in games they score three or fewer runs in this season. They’ve done it now 23 times in 36 games, including eight of their last nine contests. They are 3-5 over that recent stretch. “Pressure creates diamonds, so we'll keep rolling with that,” Brennan said. “It's a little stressful playing these one-run games, but I think it's only going to help us down the line and the more that we can be comfortable in those situations and gives our pitching staff to be more comfortable. Sky's the limit.”