WELL, this was a fun Friday!
It was an exciting afternoon for Guardians fans, as Brayan Rocchio got to play Hero in his Favorite month yet again. But that was technically finishing off the sweep from back in May. ~This~ series kicked off with a City Connect Friday night and Foster Griffin taking the mound at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario!
Foster bobbed and weaved to give us a quality outing, scattering 8 hits and 2 walks for 3 runs over 6 innings. He did his job, both eating a good amount of innings and keeping
us in the game and giving us a chance to win. It would be up to the offense to do their part…
However, the Cleveland offense was looking pretty lifeless until the 8th inning. Steven Kwan lead off the inning with a Walk (which included a confident successful challenge from our Chess King) followed by a 2-0 BAJA BLAST from the 2024 1st overall pick Travis Bazzana. The Thunder from Down Under has had a rough go for awhile now, but he really delivered today with 2 hits including a 2B and an RBI in Game 1 and then this game tying HR (off the bench) in Game 2 with another hit to follow (More on that in a minute). I know the phrase “he really needed it” gets thrown around a lot by THIS fan for this fan base… but he REALLY needed this. Steven Vogt even said so in a postgame interview just the other day. When a player that prides himself so much in what he’s done and what he’s ~supposed to be~, that player really wears their struggles hard.
But tonight belonged to Travis- as he was able to hand Detroit their League-leading 31st blown save of the season, tying this game at 3 in the 8th. It was now up to the Guardians ‘pen to deliver; and BOY did they?!
Recently called up Daniel Espino was the first out of the Bullpen, and he looked absolutely READY for the moment. He would pitch the 7th and 8th innings, giving up just one hit while striking out 3. The control looked much better this time around compared to the last time Espino was here, as he not only didn’t issue a walk, but threw 18 of his 26 pitches for strikes. He attacked the zone and let his stuff do the work. What’s refreshing appearance from the young kid who everyone is rooting for.
Following Daniel was Hunter Gaddis. Gaddis was handed the tall task of keeping this a tie game in the 9th, and knew considering that this was Game 2 of the day, he may need to pitch the 10th as well. And Gaddis was excellent. Thanks to a Dingler check swing and some solid defense in the infield, Hunter had 2 very pedestrian 1-2-3 innings, giving the Guardians a chance to walk it off in the 10th..,
Back to Bazzana. One of the reasons the Guardians made him the 1st overall pick was because of the culture fit. For all his struggles and shortcomings, one thing you will never question is Travis Bazzana’s work ethic. Add in the talent and some half decent coaching? And this is a guy I will die on a hill for. No matter how bad the cold streak will get.
I bring this up because there’s a fair amount of people that are quick to judge him right now. The bat speed, the amount of “A+” swings he gets off. The chase rate soaring, the passivity getting in the way of success. These are all concerns- which I get and will listen to. But do NOT let what a guy hasn’t done mean what he can’t do. That’s where the disconnect lies. Advanced Data is a great tool to find out why something has/has not happened. It’s not always best used as a predictive tool. Especially for a 24 year old in his rookie season.
So that Homer wasn’t just a breath of fresh air for a young player struggling- it was (hopefully) a sign of things to come…
In the Bottom of the 10th, Brayan The Hero Rocchio was coming up with the winning run on 2nd. Very first pitch he bunts right to the 3rd basemen Colt Keith, who delivered a perfect wheel play to get the running Patrick Bailey and take away the scoring threat. My editor was probably a bit busy throwing a javelin at a dart board with a bunting instructor’s face on it, because many of us here aren’t a fan of bunting to begin with- this just being one of the MANY reasons why.
Fortunately, Rocchio was able to steal 2nd on the very next pitch that Kenley Jansen threw (who was also on for his 2nd inning), and would later take 3rd with 2 outs (Kwan flew out in between steals). That would bring up the Hero from earlier, Travis “The nAUtral” Bazzana. And on a 2-2 pitch, Travis delivered for the second time in this one, ripping a single up the middle to give the Guards their 2nd walk off of the day!
Damn who has those Rocchio/Bazzana bookmarks?! What a day for the Cleveland middle infield!
Just look at Travis as he celebrates with his teammates. THAT is a guy you need here. You trust the work ethic. You trust his talent. Let him have some time to ride out the cold streaks and put this all together. He has the tools to be a successful baseball player and certainly one that can take us to October.
The Guardians and Tigers will continue this series Saturday at 6:10, when Parker Messick takes on Framber Valdez in a matchup of quite possibly the most opposite Vibe check Lefties in baseball!
September Baseball on the North Shore. It might not get better than this!
