It wasn’t an offensive juggernaut 13-run game, but it didn’t need to be.
Offense was the name of the game for the Guardians in game 2 of their match up with the Rangers, and the defense stepped up for game 3, helping lead the team to a 4-2 win over the World Series defenders.
The series win was much needed for the Guardians after dropping 5 of 6 on the road, but the team showed again how well they play at home. With the win on Sunday, the Guardians improved to 8-1 on the season in rubber matches at Progressive Field, and are 5-1 in their last six home games.
Even though this series win wasn’t a divisional win, manager Stephen Vogt says it’s no less important than one.
“Every series is a big series, every win is a big win,” Vogt said after the game. “It’s how we do it, we take it day to day and we’re playing good baseball.”
The win was especially big for Matthew Boyd, who earned his first win with Cleveland and his first MLB victory since June of 2023, when he led the Tigers to a victory over the Royals.
“To see Matthew Boyd – what he’s worked through and what he’s overcome to get back – it’s just special,” Vogt said about Boyd’s outing. “He’s been great for us all the times he’s gone out, but to get a win, to be celebrated like that, it’s a special day for him and a huge outing for us.”
Boyd is giving the Guardians rotation the boost that it needed this season. In his start, he threw 6 innings, giving up 3 hits, 1 run, and striking out 4, and did so with only 80 pitches.
And it’s not just on the field, it’s in the clubhouse as well.
“What he does in the dugout – our young starters talking to him, him talking about how to pitch and how to read swings – our guys have learned a lot from him,” David Fry said of his teammate.
The bullpen showed once again why they are one of the best in baseball.
Emmanuel Clase pitched a lights-out 9th inning, striking out all three batters he faced and notching his 38th save of the season, and his 25th consecutive save. Clase is now tied for third longest save streak in club history, matching Jose Mesa, who also holds the number one and two spots (38 straight in 1994-95, 28 straight in 1995-96) on that list.
The most encouraging part of the day’s win was the team showing up on both sides of the ball. Jose Ramirez was extremely aggressive on the bases, stealing two bases on the day (and almost getting a third) bringing his total on the season to 32. And the long ball came when it needed to with Jhonkensy Noel knocking a solo home run in the 2nd and David Fry getting one of his own to tack on the insurance run in the 8th.
While dropping 5 of 6 on the road was concerning, Guardians President Chris Antonetti said the team was prepared for a tough stretch of baseball and praised Stephen Vogt in his steadfastness through the rough road trip.
“Stephen remains remarkably consistent, he shows up every day with the same mindset, same attitude, same energy, and I think that consistency is really important,” Antonetti said of Vogt ahead of Sunday’s rubber match. “We knew this was going to be a test for us and Stephen and his staff’s consistency has paid dividends through that and will continue to pay dividends for us.”
That consistency very clearly permeates throughout the clubhouse, and is providing the confidence the club is going to need once the post season hits.
David Fry said as much after the game.
“Obviously we haven’t played our best ball lately, but no one in that clubhouse is worried at all. We know if we just come here every single day the exact same we’re going to get the results we want.”
The team is going to need the consistency and the confidence because things aren’t going to get easier for them, but this team has what it takes to make a deep run in the playoffs this year.
The home stand continues on Monday for the Guardians with four against the Royals followed by three against the Pirates.