Hunter Gaddis Tosses A Gem As Guardians Take Series Opener From White Sox
Spot starts can be quite a wild card. Calling up a pitcher from Triple-A could end in catastrophe and a handful of runs, or they can go how it went from Hunter Gaddis on Monday Night.
The Cleveland Guardians were in a jam with Peyton Battenfield heading to the injured list, a doubleheader on Sunday, and Triston McKenzie and Aaron Civale (hopefully) a week or so away from returning to the Big League roster.
The organization chose to go with Gaddis in the spot and start to turn the rotation over for the rest of the week.
Gaddis entered the night with an ERA of 6.86 during his six appearances in the Big Leagues this season. He's been hit around a lot, but the right-hander ended up throwing the best game of his young career.
The biggest difference in this start was the ... hair. Gaddis had rocked the long hair in the past, but today he debuted a fresh new short hair look. Clearly, this was the difference maker.
In all seriousness, Gaddis credited his start to his focus and not overdoing it on the mound.
This plan worked out well as his ability to make opposing hitters miss on pitches was second to none. Gaddis recorded 13 swings and misses on Monday night while allowing just two hits. Gaddis has never struggled to throw strikes, but those strikes were hit for home runs and extra bases in the past.
The script finally flipped for him here. Gaddis ended up pitching six innings giving up just two hits, walking one batter, and striking out four.
Cleveland recorded one run with Gaddis on the mound and that came as Gabriel Arias crossed the plate on a past-ball. This one run was all he needed to record the win.
Monday's win comes at a crucial time for Cleveland. They just returned home from a miserable road trip where they swept for the first time this season at the hands of the New York Mets and a series loss to the White Sox.
Cleveland needs to take it one game at a time to get back to contending for the American League Central crown. This game could serve as a nice stepping stone heading into the rest of the series.
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