No improvements needed, obviously
On the same day President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti decided the trade market was as useless to him as the free agent market, not even the team itself could lift the spirits of frustrated fans, suffering a 6-3 defeat against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Credit where credit is due: Triston McKenzie went out of his way to make clear early on that any fans seeking solace were going to be sorely disappointed, serving up a three-run home run to Christian Walker in the first inning to give Arizona a 3-0 lead.
The Guardians were able to chip away at that lead with Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen on the mound thanks to a Jose Ramirez RBI single in the first inning and a Luke Maile RBI single in the second inning. But that was as close as Cleveland would get.
In the fifth inning, Carson Kelly doubled off the wall in right field before advancing to third on a bloop single to shallow center field by Sergio Alcantara, who was able to reach second thanks to an ill-advised throw to third base by Myles Straw. Both came around to score after Alek Thomas lined an RBI double past Owen Miller at first base. Miller should have been able to stop it, but he appeared to stumble diving for it and the ball skipped past him.
McKenzie’s final line: 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Trailing 5-2 in the sixth inning, Andres Gimenez drew a one-out walk before scoring on a Maile RBI double near the top of wall in left-center. But the Diamondbacks restored their three-run lead the following inning after Carson Kelly homered off Enyel De Los Santos to make it 6-3.