This is Guardians baseball.
For the 40th time this season, the Guardians came from behind, overcoming a 3-0 deficit with four unanswered runs for a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
This particular win was needed after the weird night the Guardians had leading up to the latter half of the game.
Matthew Boyd had his shortest outing since 2019, working only 2.2 innings on the night. It looked as if it was going to be a solid outing through the first two innings, after he pitched went scoreless and recorded four of the six outs via strikeout. But the Twins came back with a vengeance in the third, putting three runs in the third.
“It never felt like things got out of control,” Boyd said following his outing. “I had some opportunities to put guys away. Things I think I’ve done majority of the year and I just wasn’t as sharp at some of those things today.”
What made the three runs particularly brutal is that two of them came on a play where Andres Gimenez had a scary moment, colliding with an umpire while trying to field a grounder from Byron Butxton and was slow getting up, holding his shoulder and looking visibly shaken. Gimenez stayed in the game, and got the first run on the board for Cleveland with an RBI single in the fifth.
But again, this is Guardians baseball. Because even though Boyd didn’t have the best outing, the bullpen stepped in and does what the bullpen does: hold teams scoreless. Starting with Pedro Avila, the bullpen combined for 6.1 shutout innings – marking the third time this season the unit has held teams scoreless for 6.1 or more, and the 57th game this season of 3 or more scoreless innings of relief.
“The bullpen – what they were doing today was awesome,” Boyd said of the team’s win. “It just speaks to who we are and this club…we can do it multiple ways.”
The 6.1 scoreless innings were capped off by none other than Emmanuel Clase, who earned his 46th save of the season, tying Jose Mesa’s 1995 season for most saves in a single year by a Clevelander. It was also Clase’s 33rd straight save since May 20th, and the 2nd longest saves streak in club history.
But that save opportunity would not be possible without Kyle Manzardo, who continues to put his stamp on the lineup with a go-ahead two-run home run in the 8th that secured the Guardians the win.
“I got kind of excited,” Clase said when asked about getting another save opportunity after Manzardo’s go-ahead home run. “In my mind I was calling that situation to happen, I was positive something like that would happen. As soon as he did it, for me it was that little happy moment of ‘ok, ready to go,’ but I was expecting that from previous innings.”
Manzardo has embraced his role with the Guardians as the DH – watching film and spending time in the cages, and it has paid off tenfold since his return to Cleveland from Columbus. This lineup needed a spark, and Manzardo is providing it.
“Everybody dreams of hitting that big home run or the big base hit in the major leagues to help your team win a game,” Vogt said of Manzardo’s homer. “For him to hit a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the 8th – that’s a moment you dream of.”
There are a lot of emotions that come with a baseball season – especially with how long it is – and it all of those emotions came out over the course of a single game on Monday night.
To run the risk of sounding like a broken record – This. Is. Guardians. Baseball. It’s not just the bullpen shutting out batters. It’s not just Clase saving game after game. It’s not even a young player like Manzardo stepping up for a clutch hit when it matters most. It’s how the team supports each other, and Vogt got choked up talking about the team showing up for one other.
“My favorite part was Naylor at second base, standing there watching it and cheering. Waiting for him at home plate with a smile on his face – that’s the kind of stuff this team does.”
And Stephen Vogt acknowledged his emotions
“I love these guys,” Vogt said as he got emotional. “They’re so much fun to watch. They love each other. They work hard. That was an emotional night. And to see two teammates come together like that, that’s powerful.”
The post season is almost here. And for the Guardians, that clinching spot could come as early as Wednesday. And with how well this team is – and has been – gelling this season, it would not be a surprise if that clinching game does come in two days.