Inside Foster Griffin's First Few Appearances Since Being Traded To the Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians invested quite a bit in Washington Nationals left-handed starter Foster Griffin.

And while it obviously takes time for a new player to settle in, Griffin's first few appearances in the navy blue and red he has had to fight through each outing.

Here is how the 31-year-old has looked across four starts with the Guardians:

Game 1: Debut Against New York Mets

Griffin's debut with the Guardians came from Progressive Field against the Mets, one of the league's worst teams at the time. However, they gave him a tough challenge, with the offense exploding for seven hits, two walks drawn and five earned runs across the first four frames.

Griffin fought to stay on the mound, but after facing 21 batters and throwing nearly 90 pitches that quickly, he was pulled.

Eventually, the Mets pulled so far away after Griffin exited that the final score favored them 13-6.

While the loss certainly wasn't all on him, the early struggles hindered the team's ability to get going.

Game 2: Close-Knit Win Over Detroit

After a debut-to-forget, Griffin responded well in his next appearance with the Guardians, tossing through five innings against the Detroit Tigers. He capped out at 83 pitches thrown with another 21 batters faced. He was pulled due to how close the game was, with the coaching staff turning to the bullpen to finish the job.

He allowed just four hits and one walk, giving up three runs along the way. Fortunately, though, only one was earned.

He finished with an additional six strikeouts, which is still tied for the most he has recorded since coming to Cleveland.

His efforts allowed the Guardians to stay in the contest, as the offense ended up posting six runs in a 6-4 win.

Game 3: Bounce-Back Against San Francisco

Griffin didn't necessarily look bad in either of his first two appearances, but it seemed like he was still not fully unlocked.

On August 18, though, he broke through.

In an 8-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants, he pitched through six innings, giving up just five hits and one earned run. He also tacked on another six strikeouts, with 66 total strikes and 22 of which came with batters caught looking.

With such a deep arsenal, something that has been praised as of late, Griffin showed the Guardians that he can pitch relatively deep into contests and keep batters on their heels.

Game 4: Bumpy Road, But Battle-Tested Against Rockies

In his most recent outing, a 7-2 win over the Colorado Rockies, Griffin got through another five frames with a whopping 105 pitches thrown.

He kept the Guardians in the game, especially with the offense continuing to thrive, but he did give up five hits, three walks and two earned runs. He has yet to have a fully clean outing, but again, he's setting the team up to win.

He also produced four strikeouts.

"I think each one felt more and more comfortable," Griffin said postgame. "Felt more like myself the last two. And youknow, the more I work with the catchers, the more we understand how we work off each other. It has been really nice to get back in a good rhythm."

Griffin's arsenal is never going to put up incredibly flashy numbers, with a seven-pitch mix that utilizes a lot of off-speed selections, but he can tire out batters and keep an opposing team distracted. It also takes time, as Griffin said, for his new catching group to get used to what he throws.

Next scheduled to be on the bump later this week, Griffin will likely only continue to see improvements. Cleveland certainly needs it, especially if they want to fight for the top spot in the American League Central standings.

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