Will Cleveland look like a competent team?
The Guardians go to play a good team while playing their worst baseball of the season so far, so the chips are down – let’s see who steps up.
The Guardians are 35-35 with a -26 run differential, 22nd in team wRC+ at 92, 13th in Baserunning Runs Above Average at 0.6, fifth in Defense at 3.9, 26th in starting pitcher SIERA at 4.43, 10th in bullpen SIERA at 3.53.
The Giants are 41-31 with +45 run differential, 20th in team wRC+ at 96, 15th in Baserunning Runs Above Average at 0.5, 15th in Defense at -4.8, sixth in starting pitcher SIERA at 3.74, 12th in bullpen SIERA at 3.67.
It’s interesting that really the only difference between these teams this season has been starting pitcher performance. Now, the Guardians’ rotation has been better of late, but their offense has been (minus Jose) horrific. So, maybe there is a chance to surprise some folks here. Of course, the Giants just added Rafael Devers to help that struggling offense.
Matchups:
Game One, Tuesday, 9:45PM EDT: Slade Cecconi, RHP, 3.59 SIERA vs. Robbie Ray, LHP, 3.58 SIERA
Game Two, Wednesday, 9:45PM EDT: Logan Allen, RHP, 4.89 SIERA vs. Justin Verlander, RHP, 4.66 SIERA
Game Three, Thursday, 4:05PM EDT: Gavin Williams, RHP, 4.41 SIERA vs. Logan Webb, RHP, 2.70 SIERA
Ah, recent Guardians nemesis Verlander, a good lefty in Ray, and one of the best pitchers in MLB in Webb. What could go wrong? Guardians will send Jose Ramirez 158 wRC+, Steven Kwan 126 wRC+, Daniel Schneemann 115 wRC+ and Carlos Santana 109 wRC+ out as their only hitters currently above average. Meanwhile, the Giants have Rafael Devers 148 wRC+, Heliot Ramos 133 wRC+, Jung Hoo Lee 114 wRC+, Wilmer Flores 109 wRC+, Casey Schmidt 109 wRC+, and Mike Yastrzemski 108 wRC+.
It’s pretty clear – the Guardians need folks like Lane Thomas, Nolan Jones, David Fry, Kyle Manzardo, Bo Naylor, Gabriel Arias and Angel Martinez to step up to have a shot at winning this series. Here’s hoping they do.