Guardians Pitchers Can't Escape Themselves, Drop Series Opener to Orioles

The Cleveland Guardians took three from the Detroit Tigers this past weekend in a four-game series at Progressive Field.

But after the magic left the bats and the arms began to falter, Cleveland returned to earth.

On Monday, Sept. 7, the Guardians took on the Baltimore Orioles in a series-opening affair, falling 6-4. Starting pitcher Joey Cantillo didn't look the part, giving up three hits, five walks and four earned runs across 2.1 innings of work. He did record three strikeouts, but issues in his command and control led to him being up to 72 pitches quickly.

The loss, which primarily fell on Cantillo's shoulders, was his ninth of the season.

“Just didn't quite have command today," manager Stephen Vogt said. "You know, bad counts, walks. They didn't hit him all that hard outside of the homer, and just not a not a great one for Joey today.”

Across the last three games, he has given up 16 runs and 10 earned runs, all while walking a staggering 14 batters. It seems like this is just an odd spell for the lefty, though, as for most of the campaign, he has been one of Cleveland's best starting arms.

However, with the hunt for the American League Central remaining tight, outings like this may come back to haunt those in the red and navy blue.

The offense didn't help Cantillo out much, as they combined for nine hits, zero walks and four runs.

Breaking down the offense's struggles, Vogt shared that Orioles starter Trevor Rogers looked the part. He finished with 7.1 frames of work, striking out six while allowing just six hits and one earned run. He did not walk a batter.

“Yeah, you know he was he was hitting the top rail with the fastball," Vogt said. "The sweeper was really good today. You know, just kind of looking at it on video, it kind of looked like… it's going to tell you it's coming towards you, and then it was just staying true and going down. Which is why he has the stuff that he does, mixed in with enough changeups.

"But the two fastball combo at the top and then the off-speed just kind of didn't allow us to get much going."

Three of the team's runs came in the ninth frame, when the Guardians were pretty much out of the running for the win, as veteran first baseman Nathaniel Lowe smashed a three-run pinch-hit homer.

His efforts could have sparked a comeback, but Angel Genao grounding out and Patrick Bailey flying out put the game to bed.

The Guardians, with the Chicago White Sox three games ahead in the Central, will look to return to winning ways on Tuesday, Sept. 8, as they take on the Orioles in game two of the series.

Game time between the two sides is set for 6:35 p.m. EST from Camden Yards.

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