Guardians Pitching Staff Hits a Wall as Astros Plate Nine in Friday Night Loss

Well, that was a night to forget.

While it appeared Cleveland had started to regain some momentum after picking up a win on Thursday, the club came crashing back to earth. Following a 2-1 series loss to the Milwaukee Brewers earlier in the week, the Cleveland Guardians opened a three-game road series against the Houston Astros.

On Friday, June 19, the Guardians dropped the series opener, 9-3, as the pitching staff put up one of it's worst outings of the season. Unfortunately, it wasn't just the starting pitching either, as the bullpen allowed five combined runs across two innings and three relievers, which pretty much put the game to rest heading into the later half.

Starting pitcher Tanner Bibee was pulled after 5.1 innings, with the Guardians pitching staff turning directly to Matt Festa. He would end up giving up a whopping three hits, one home run and one earned run on seven pitches, causing many to question the decision to remove Bibee.

Postgame, manager Stephen Vogt broke down the decision to pull Bibee a bit early and lean into the bullpen.

Stephen Vogt explained to reporters in Houston his decision to take out Tanner Bibee when he did (via #Guardians audio):

“Just pitch count, 95 [with] two on in the 6th. Matt Festa has been outstanding all year coming in that fireman pivot role. And just mislocation to Altuve,…
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) June 20, 2026

"Just pitch count, 95 [with] two on in the 6th," he said. "Matt Festa has been outstanding all year, coming in that fireman pivot role. And just mislocation to Altuve, and a couple others, and Matt just had a tough night.”

Before Bibee dipped out, he had given up four hits, four runs, three earned runs and two walks. He also tacked on seven strikeouts, but as Vogt mentioned, that pitch count grew heavily.

When asked about the difference in his game from the start of the year to now, Bibee said that he doesn't feel like he has made any major changes.

Tanner Bibee was asked by reporters in Houston if he feels he’s made any big changes that have worked for him the last 3 starts vs. the previous winless 13 (via #Guardians audio):

“No, not really. I mean, I feel like I've had two horrific starts, and I feel like the rest of the…
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) June 20, 2026

“No, not really. I mean, I feel like I've had two horrific starts, and I feel like the rest of the time I've been pretty solid, honestly," he said. "But I think some stuff's been clicking a little bit, with like we talked about with the fastballs and stuff, and constantly figuring out the spin and stuff like that. I think me and Pat have gotten into a little groove.

"I mean, I don't know what number start this is with him, but we're figuring out each other a little bit, and we kind of have gotten…. I figured out his tendencies on what he wants, and he's good at communicating that, and I hope I'm good at communicating it to him too."

On the campaign, Bibee is sitting at a 4.03 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and .232 batting average against, all while flashing a strong 78 strikeouts.

While the spotlight was stuck on Bibee and Festa, the rest of the pitching staff struggled just as much.

After Festa left the game, a combination of youngster Daniel Espino and recently activated Erik Sabrowski, who would go 1.1 innings, giving up four hits and four earned runs.

At that point, the game was put to rest, especially considering Cleveland's lineup is banged up so heavily and attempting to find it's identity without José Ramírez, Angél Martínez and Chase DeLauter. The three are expected to be out for a few weeks.

Back in action on Saturday, the Guardians and Astros will collide at 7:15 p.m. EST from Daikin Park for game two of the series.

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