Guardians Falter, Lose 4-3 In Game That Started And Ended In Controversy
The Guardians have struggled to finish the Tigers off the last two games. After splitting a doubleheader on Monday, the Tuesday night game got off to an interesting start, and certainly ended with one.
Around the league there's been instances of the runner being tagged out at home only to have the opposing team challenge that the catcher was blocking the plate. The Guardians were no different, and felt the same fate in just the first inning.
With two down, Zach Plesac walked Javier Báez who then advanced on a steal. Harold Castro bounced one off the bag up the middle, and Báez attempted to score and got thrown out.
A.J. Hinch challenged the plate was blocked by Austin Hedges, and sure enough, the call was overturned to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Kerry Carpenter would tee off on a home run to center to make it 3-0.
The Guardians responded in the home half after Steven Kwan and Amed Rosario hit back to back singles. Kwan would score on a fielder's choice to make it 3-1.
Plesac's night would end in the sixth after allowing back-to-back singles and having reached 103 pitches. His final line would be 5.1 innings, nine hits, four runs, and three strikeouts and walks each. Prior to tonight, he had allowed 16 hits and eight runs over 16 innings against the Tigers.
The Tigers scored again in the third and would never plate another run, but the Guardians cut into their lead in the seventh to make it 4-2.
In the eighth, Rosario would get the club going with a leadoff triple and Ramírez would bring him in on a single. With two down, Josh Naylor pinch hit for Owen Miller but would ground out to end the inning.
After a 1-2-3 ninth by Nick Sandlin, the Guardians kept the hope alive with a leadoff double by Tyler Freeman. Hedges would push Freeman to third on a bunt, but what ensued after that was wild.
Myles Straw would wind up striking out, but not until the umpires conferenced on the call. It appeared the home plate umpire called a dropped foul, which would have meant Straw's at-bat would continue -- but the crew overturned it to an out.
Guardians manager Terry Francona would take the field and get tossed by home plate crew chief Lance Barksdale, but not before he got his money worth. But, as soon as Kwan got into the box and ball one was being thrown, you could see the third base umpire, Alan Porter, yelling with Straw in the dugout. This, again, held up the game momentarily with the now-heated club.
Kwan, who was 3-for-4 on the night, then grounded out to end the game after count was reset to 0-0. For what it's worth, Rosario was the only other Guardian with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4, making up five of the eight hits on the night.
This has the making to be a moment that can galvanize the club, much like what could have been following the debacle earlier in the season at Yankee Stadium. Hedges, along with Francona, voiced displeasure in their postgame comments.
"To be able to take the game into their own hands that way, and to -- first all that cost one run automatically -- and then what ended up transitioning, honestly, it's a disgrace." Hedges said. "It's embarrassing."
The team will wrap up with the Tigers for the year tomorrow as they face a split on the series with Cal Quantrill (9-5, 3.67) and Daniel Norris (0-4, 5.97) on the rubber.
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