As if Cleveland Guardians star third baseman Jose Ramirez already made enough history earlier in the day, he ended up making history in a different fashion in the bottom of the 9th inning against the San Francisco Giants on Friday night.
On a double to left-center field, Ramirez became the 39th Guardians hitter in franchise history to tally up 1,000 hits in his career with the franchise. He also is the first Guardian since former Cleveland first baseman Carlos Santana achieved the feat in 2020.
The star third baseman is off to a hot start to the 2022 campaign, batting .464 with 3 home runs, 14 RBI, and 5 runs scored.
Ramirez, 29, had a warm welcome on Friday night from the Guardians fans, his first game in Cleveland since signing his extension. Guardians fans were thrilled to see Ramirez make history and eagerly await the next thousand hits from Cleveland’s slugger.
Playing the Pen
While Guardians starting pitcher Zach Plesac had a steller outing (5.1 innings, two earned runs, one walk and four strikeouts), the team still held him to just 81 pitches on the day, and decided to lean on the bullpen to carry their way to the finish line.
In 3.2 innings, six relievers combined to allow just one hit, while walking three and striking out five Giants hitters. While familiar faces from the 2021 campaign like Bryan Shaw and Trevor Stephan made appearances, two relievers really made their mark in the 4-1 loss to the Giants.
Guardians reliever Anthony Gose has had quite the journey in the big leagues, starting as a 21-year-old up-and-coming outfield prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012. Now? He’s adapted his game and is a middle reliever for Cleveland with fastballs that touch 100 mph on the radar gun.
In addition to his fastball, Gose, 31, has a pretty lethal mid-80s slider that can throw off hitters compared to his fastball. With Gose throwing left-handed, he could carve out a nice role for Guardians manager Terry Francona.
While Gose has some experience at the major league level, Guardians rookie Konnor Pilkington made his major league debut for the club in the ninth inning. He was able to throw an inning while only surrendering a walk and dishing out a strikeout.
Pilkington, 24, was originally acquired by Cleveland from the Chicago White Sox on July 29, 2021 for second baseman Cesar Hernandez.
If Cleveland is going to have success in 2022, they are going to have to have success from their bullpen, and if Friday is any indication, they could be well on their way to having some nice gems come forward and take serious roles.
