Guardians Avoid Sweep, Dominant Start From Triston McKenzie

The Guardians scrap out a win to avoid getting swept by the Yankees.

Author:
Tommy Wild
Jul 3, 2022 4:47 PM EDT

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Cleveland Guardians

New York Yankees

That one was a little too close for comfort, but the Guardians got it done in the end.

They were able to avoid getting swept by the New York Yankees as they won the series finale 2-0. The story of the game was easily the dominant performance from Triston McKenzie who marched right through the Yankee lineup.

There is no denying that McKenzie had a difficult month in June, especially towards the end. He struggled a lot with giving up home runs in his last few starts, which could have been a big issue going up against the best home run-hitting teams in baseball.

But, McKenzie avoided giving up the long ball and bounced back in a big way in the series finale.

He looked fantastic from the very beginning as he retired the first 10 Yankee batters. He went on to pitch seven shutout innings, only giving up one hit. He also struck out seven batters and only had one walk which was a hit-by pitch.

His curveball had hitters confused all day and it was easily his best pitch.

After the game, McKenzie said he was trying to "go out there and make them feel my presence in terms of just establishing my dominance on the mound per se, so they didn't get comfortable and have those big swings ..."

Watch what Tito had to say about McKenzie's performance and the Guardians' win here:

Eli Morgan also had a bounce-back appearance too. He came in during the eighth inning for McKenzie and pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts.

Emmanuel Clase also found himself in a bases-loaded jam in the ninth, but the American League Reliever of the Month was able to escape it and get the save.

On the scoring end, the Guardians got on the board first thanks to a Franmil Reyes solo home run in the fourth inning. It's a great sign to see him have home runs in back-to-back games. He's showing that he is getting back on track.

Outside of the Franmil home run, the offense had some issues getting anything else going throughout the game. That was until the bottom of the eighth when Franmil recorded his second RBI of the day when he drove in Amed Rosario with two outs.

Even though the Guardians lost the series, they do get some momentum as they get ready to hit the road.

The Guardians head to Detroit to play another doubleheader. Guardians fans will get some extra baseball on the holiday. The first pitch for game one is scheduled to be at 1:10 p.m. with Zach Plesac on the mound for the Guardians. The second game will have a 6:40 start time.

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