CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Xzavion Curry (3-0, 2.86 ERA) will serve as Sunday’s starting pitcher. With Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, and Cal Quantrill still on the injured list, Cleveland has had to resort to the bullpen to start games.
Thankfully for the Guardians, Tanner Bibee was able to pitch seven scoreless innings of baseball on Saturday to ensure that Curry would be able to start and that other players in the bullpen would be fresh for Sunday’s game.
“It’s really hard to put into words just how valuable he has been,” pitching coach Carl Willis said about Curry. “He’s done a little bit of everything. We have had to make the one start with him, today’s number two. We’ve used him in length, we’ve used him in extra innings, close game situations a couple times that other guys are tired. He has just been as consistent as consistent can be.”
This is the second time in as many weeks that Curry has started a ballgame. He had a three-inning outing last Monday in Pittsburgh. Curry had two strikeouts and gave up zero runs on one hit. Five other Guardians relief pitchers followed him in that game to complete the 11-0 shutout of the Pirates. Curry has held NL teams to a .198 batting average this season.
Time to bring out the broomsticks – The Guardians have a chance to sweep the reigning National League champions with a win on Sunday. The team is seeking their second series sweep of 2023 (June 20th-June 22nd vs. Oakland).
Cleveland is 10-11 all-time against Philadelphia and 9-4 at Progressive Field against them. The Guardians have never completed a three-game series sweep of the Phillies.
The Phillies haven’t been swept in a full three-game set since May 30th-June 1st when they lost three consecutive games to the Mets on the road.
.500 – With last night’s 1-0 win over the Phillies, the Guardians have once again reached the .500 mark at 49-49. Cleveland is .500 for the eighth time this season.
The Guardians had a .500 record heading into the All-Star break, but the club had work to do to get back to that number after getting swept by the Texas Rangers to start the second half.
With a win on Sunday, Cleveland has the chance to be a game over .500 for the first time since July 8th when they beat Kansas City 10-6 to become 45-44.
Harper’s return to first – Bryce Harper made his long-awaited debut at first base against the Guardians in the series opener on Friday. He became the 25th player in the modern era to play in over 1,400 career games before making his first career infield start.
Harper looked like a natural on Friday, making an incredible diving catch into the camera well in the third inning. He served as the Phillies designated hitter on Saturday but will return to the field to play first base in the series finale.
Harper and the Phillies will try to snap a four-game losing streak and improve to .500 on the road with a win against the Guardians on Sunday.
