The Guardians took some calculated risks today that did not pay off in their 2-1 loss to the Tigers.
They tried to capitalize on the platoon advantage of Jhonkensy Noel and Johnathan Rodríguez vs. the best
pitcher in baseball. Both made errors leading to both unearned runs scoring off of Gavin Williams. Because Noel is not a good first baseman (CJ Kayfus is) and Rodriguez is the worst right fielder I may have ever seen.
I don’t think it’s hindsight to say that when your game is pitching and defense, you should lean into that strength instead of hoping for one big swing from Noel or Rodriguez. But, I get the draw of any kind of offensive boost.
Gavin Williams and the bullpen were great, as usual. Angel Martinez was a beast scoring from second on Skubal on an infield single.
Fine. We'll do it ourselves.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/gqCRxbiA3A
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 30, 2025
In the bottom of the ninth, Jose Ramirez hit an infield single that Javy Baez threw away putting Jose on third base. Unfortunately, rookies George Valera was not up to the task to get him in with one out, and Kyle Manzardo hit a grounder to pitcher Will Vest who threw Ramirez out, understandably going on contact.
Losing to Skubal is not a surprise, but this game was surprisingly winnable. The Guardians will need to regroup as they always have this season and do it quickly this time. My primary suggestion would be to play your best hitters regardless of platoon advantage. And, that includes capitalizing on the gamble you have taken on Chase DeLauter by letting him start and take big at-bats. He is likely the third or fourth best hitter on the team and I don’t care about experience. He should have batted for Valera. I know why he didn’t, but now is not the time to chicken out.
Go big, Vogt and the Guardians. Or go home.
