Tanner Bibee, Stephen Vogt Explain Dugout Incident During Guardians Loss

Frustration is setting in for the Cleveland Guardians, who have now lost six straight games and nine of their last ten. A week ago, the Guardians were in the thick of the playoff hunt, but have now fallen back under .500.

Cleveland’s latest loss came on Monday in a lopsided, 9-0, win for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The bats were again silent over nine innings, being shutout on only two hits, and Cleveland’s pitching largely struggled as well.

However, the moment that will be discussed the most over the next few days is what happened off the field between the fourth and fifth innings.

Tanner Bibee came into the dugout after the Rays scored four runs, and was yelling loudly in what he said after the game as “trying to get some energy into the dugout.”

However, Cleveland’s skipper didn’t necessarily take it that way and didn’t think it was the right time for Bibee to express his feelings in such a public way.

"Emotions are high with everybody. Tanner's one of the most competitive, fiery people I've ever been around, and he came in trying to pump the boys up and I told him, ‘not now,’ take it downstairs,” explained manager Stephen Vogt.

“And so we've already talked, we're good. It's one of those fiery moments that happens in competition in a long season and Tanner's has been and will continue to be one of our best. And we know the competitive fire is what drives him. And like I said, emotions are high right now."

Aug 25, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee, left, walks off the mound beside manager Stephen Vogt during a pitching change in the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

Bibee, who was clearly emotional in the lockeroom after the game, did own up to misjudging the moment, admitting, “It was probably not the right way to do it at that time, but [Vogt’s] message to me was just, ‘not like that or not in that time,’ and he's completely right.”

Bibee’s individual 2025 campaign has been a perfect microcosm of how this season has gone for the Guardians; being so close to breaking through and finding success, only to have everything spiral out of control in the blink of an eye.

Now, it’s all about turning the corner and hoping it isn’t too late to turn the ship around.

“I feel like fundamentally we know we're a good baseball team, said Bibee, and the Guardians still have over a month to prove it.

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