CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez got the finale against the Detroit Tigers off.
Manager Terry Francona kept Gimenez out of the lineup Wednesday afternoon and had Tyler Freeman start at second base.
“Seems like I think mentally it was probably good for him,” Francona said. “He's having a tough time and this guy [Tigers starter Eduardo Rodriguez] is tough on everybody, but I just think sometimes it just will do a kid good and I didn't want Freeman to go too long without playing because he had been swinging to bat so well in Triple-A. I don't want him to lose what he had.”
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Like the bulk of the Guardians lineup, Gimenez had been scuffling of late. He is hitting .214 with nine extra base hits in 35 games.
In Tuesday night’s 2-0 win, the gold glover committed a rare defensive error.
Francona and his coaching staff are walking a fine line between not overreacting to the slow offensive start and coaching players up.
“I don't think it takes much sometimes for players to perceive panic, so showing them that you care is certainly important, but showing them that you want to be there with them through this and help them through it is equally important,” Francona said. “I think they know we're all in this together.”
Guardians coaches are also keeping a close eye on players – especially the younger guys – to make sure they’re not pressing or trying to do too much.
“We always have our radar up always,” Francona said. “You can tell when they are. We watch, believe me. We watch everything because that's what we're supposed to do.”
Cutting ‘em up – Peyton Battenfield makes his fourth start of the season Wednesday afternoon and he’s been solid despite his 0-2 record since replacing Aaron Civale, who went on the injured list with a strained oblique.
“Whether he calls it a cut it or slider, it kind of sometimes is a little bigger, shorter, but his ability to command that in all counts has really been impressive,” Francona said. “He kind of pitches like a veteran guy and they said when he was going good in Triple-A, that's what he did. Then for a while last year he got away from that a little bit. He tried to start striking people out and got away from probably what his strengths were.”
Battenfield entered Wednesday’s game having allowed seven earned runs on 12 hits with 14 strikeouts and four walks in 16 1/3 innings.
Welcome relief – Gimenez won’t be the only one getting the day off. Reliever James Karinchak and closer Emmanuel Clase, who have pitched quite a bit recently, will likely be held back.
“We’ll stay away from a couple guys,” Francona said. “Hopefully we have a chance to close it, but you might see somebody different.”
Clase leads baseball with 13 saves after slamming the door Tuesday night in the ninth with another scoreless inning.
Start ‘em up – Including Shane Bieber’s six shutout innings Tuesday night, Guardians starters have thrown five or more innings while allowing two or fewer runs in eight of their last nine games.
Since April 30, Cleveland starters rank second in innings pitched with 55.0 and opposing average .211 while a 2.62 ERA, which is fourth best over that span.
Four! – The Guardians have failed to score more than three runs eight times in their last nine games. Including Tuesday night’s 2-0 victory, Cleveland is 6-17 when scoring three or fewer but they are 11-2 when they score four or more in a game.