Disappointing Series Against the New York Mets Puts Guardians in Rough Waters

10 hits, four walks and six runs scored.

Such efforts normally would be good enough to win a baseball game for the Cleveland Guardians, but pitching struggles doomed them.

On Thursday, August 6, the Guardians played host to the New York Mets from Progressive Field, completing a three-game home series. Unfortunately, it didn't end the way the team had hoped it would. After dropping both the series opener and the second game, the Guardians dropped the finale, falling 13-6 in a dominant showing from the Mets.

The Guardians' offense, led by multi-hit performances from Chase DeLauter, Nathaniel Lowe and Petey Halpin, combined to get on base 14 times.

However, Cleveland's starting pitcher, Foster Griffin, and a bullpen of six arms, combined to allow 18 hits, seven walks and a whopping 13 runs.

When evaluating Griffin's debut as a member of the Guardians, manager Stephen Vogt shared that he has the stuff, but just couldn't put it together on Thursday.

"The stuff is really good," Vogt began. "I think that's what we saw. I thought a couple of curveballs got left up, you know, but again, for the first time seeing him pitch, I think it's really exciting. I know he would have liked to have had a better one, his first time out with us, but obviously this guy's been throwing the ball well all year, just kind of left a couple curveballs up that they didn't miss."

Griffin allowed five of the Mets' runs, letting them on base seven times with hits and twice via the walk. He also gave up two home runs.

Cleveland Guardians, Foster Griffi — Aug 6, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Foster Griffin, left, talks to pitching coach Carl Willis, center and the infielders during the fourth inning against the New York Mets at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One of the reasons Griffin could have had such a shaky outing was that, as a new member of the team, he had to call his own pitches. Instead of relying on the catcher to make the call, due to the lack of knowledge catcher Patrick Bailey had of his arsenal, Griffin had to just go with what he felt was right.

However, Vogt shot down that thought postgame.

"He said he'd been calling his own game for the majority of the year, so we thought, why change that?" said Vogt. "You know, I don't think there was anything wrong with the mix. I think it was just a couple pitches got left up, a couple walks, and they made him pay."

Cleveland's skipper went on to share that, while Thursday's loss certainly was a tough one to see be tacked into the win-loss collumn, the roster is still settling in following the deadline.

In total, the front office added four players via trade and another from the farm system. While each has seemingly fit in well in the clubhouse, building on-field chemistry will take time.

“This is the first three days with this group together, and I think there's a lot of things to be excited about," Vogt said. "Obviously, we need to win some ball games. We're kind of in it right now. We haven't played a complete game in a little while. I think for us it's getting back to making it happen."

“This is the first 3 days with this group together, and I think there's a lot of things to be excited about. Obviously, we need to win some ball games. We're kind of in it right now. We haven't played a complete game in a little while.”

(Via #Guardians Zoom) Stephen Vogt on the… pic.twitter.com/7Pp7Hkw9vn
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) August 6, 2026

This weekend, the Guardians have a tough series in front of them, taking on the Chicago White Sox on the road on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

With the top spot in the American League Central in sight, Cleveland can't afford to go out there and drop this series.

Add us as a preferred source on Google