News and Notes - Guardians Lose in Williams Return

The Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox faced off on Wednesday night in front of sold out Progressive Field.

The summer heat and humidity hung in the air as 37,151 fans cheered on Gavin Williams for his first start of the season. Gavin Williams was injured back in Spring Training and was finally ready to take the mound once more. Williams did not have a historic, triumphant return, but there is a lot to look forward to for the sophomore righty. Williams went 4.0 innings and gave up 7 hits, 5 runs, and 2 walks. He only struck out 2 White Sox, but his fastball was topping out at 98.9 mph. Williams relied primarily on his fastball in the outing and threw 74 pitches, 46 of which were strikes. It is hard enough for a pitcher to return from an elbow injury and throw the velocity that Gavin was. I am unbothered by the results of this start and am looking forward to seeing what he can do once he settles in and gets comfortable.

Eli Morgan pitched 2.0 innings, striking out 2 and giving up 1 hit. Eli has brought his ERA down to 1.98. Morgan is another pitcher that is coming back from the IL, but with very little rehab appearances this time around. Hopefully he can remain up for the rest of the season and continue to settle into the long reliever role.

The rest of the pitching staff is showing the ware and tare from the long season. Sam Hentges only pitched 0.2 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits and striking out 2. Tim Herrin was brought in to finish out the 7th inning and was able to wrap up the side in 3 pitches after Nicky Lopez hit a ground out to Andrés Giménez. Unfortunately, Herrin was not able to lock it in for the 8th inning, giving up 2 runs on 1 walk and 1 hit. Pedro Avila finished the game for the Guardians and is starting to cement himself as a reliable innings eater that can get the team to the late innings cleanly. Avila pitched 2.0 innings, walking 2 and giving up 1 hit. In 36 pitches, Avila struck out 2. Avila’s ERA on the season is 3.77, but in the last 15 games, he pitched 26.2 innings and has an ERA of 2.03 with a WHIP of 1.28.

Guardians offense was rather quiet last night. The team only recorded 5 hits on the night, with Brayan Rocchio the only player with multiple hits. In the bottom of the 3rd, the Guardians got on the board when David Fry hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Daniel Schneemann who led off the inning with a double. Cleveland’s 2nd run came in the bottom of the 7th when Brayan Rocchio hit his 3rd home run of the season with a solo shot to right field. The ball carried 369 ft and left his bat at 102.6 mph.

As I mentioned on Twitter/X, even Superman has his Kryptonite. For whatever reason, the games played between the White Sox and Guardians will inevitably be nail biting, even-matched games despite (and sometimes IN SPITE of) however either team is performing in that given year. Hopefully the Guardians can pull out a victory in today’s day game, but if not all is not lost. The team still has a lot of fight, and a large buffer to work with thanks to the historic start to the season. The All-Star Break is fast approaching and will be a chance for this team to rest and reset.

The Cleveland Guardians fall to 53-31.

AL Central Standings:

Cleveland Guardians - 53-31

Minnesota Twins - 48-38 - 6.0 GB

Kansas City Royals - 48-40 - 7.0 GB

Detroit Tigers - 39-47 - 15.0 GB

Chicago White Sox - 25-63 - 30.0 GB

With this loss, the Guardians are now 0.5 GB from 1st place in the American League. The Baltimore Orioles have a record of 54-31. The New York Yankees are 1.5 back from 1st place with a record of 54-34.

The Guardians remain in 3rd place in the league overall. The Philadelphia Phillies still have the best record in the entire MLB at 57-29.

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Cleveland Guardians News:

José Ramírez was named AL 3rd Base starter for the All-Star Game. It will be his 6th appearance and 3rd time as a starter

Steven Kwan was named the AL Left Field starter for the All-Star Game. It will be his 1st appearance as an All-Star.

Nick Sandlin threw a full inning in a rehab appearance.

Around the League:

MLB Pipeline released their scouting report for the All-Star Futures Game.

The All-Star starting roster has been revealed:

Minnesota Twins place Royce Lewis on 10-day IL.

Former Guardian Aaron Civale traded to Milwaukee Brewers from the Tampa Bay Rays.