Cleveland Baseball Insider

Guardians Reliever To Make First Career Start On Wednesday Night

Cleveland right-hander Nick Sandlin is slated to start for the Guardians in the second game of their three-game home series against Kansas City.
Logan Potosky|
May 18, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Nick Sandlin (52) delivers a pitch in the seventh inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field.
May 18, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Nick Sandlin (52) delivers a pitch in the seventh inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. | David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

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Cleveland Guardians

On Tuesday night, the Cleveland Guardians earned an important series-opening victory over the Kansas City Royals.

With the win, Cleveland grew its American League Central Division lead to five games.

After the contest, Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt announced a change in the team’s starting rotation for the series.

Reliever Nick Sandlin is set to take the mound to begin the second game of the set on Wednesday night. While this will mark his 171st regular-season MLB appearance, it will be his first career Major League start.

The right-hander has pitched very well this season, going 4-0 with a 2.77 ERA, one save, 29 strikeouts, a 0.77 WHIP, and .126 opposing batting average in 29 relief appearances.

May 18, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Nick Sandlin (52) delivers a pitch in the seventh inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field.
May 18, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Nick Sandlin (52) delivers a pitch in the seventh inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. | David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Usual starter Logan Allen will be available out of Cleveland’s bullpen. In his last outing, the left-hander tied his career-high of seven earned runs allowed on six hits, walking two and striking out just one in a career-low 1.2 innings of work on the road against the Colorado Rockies.

Time will tell if Wednesday night will serve as a “bullpen game” for the Guardians’ pitching staff, a contest in which multiple relievers shoulder the innings load of a starting pitcher. Cleveland’s bullpen has been one of the premier units in baseball, leading MLB in: ERA (2.38), holds (51), fewest runs allowed (69), fewest earned runs allowed (60), fewest home runs allowed (11), WHIP (0.97), opposing batting average (.194), and saves (22, tied).

First pitch for the second game of Cleveland’s current series against Kansas City is set for 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday night at Progressive Field.

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Logan Potosky
LOGAN POTOSKY

Logan Potosky is an aspiring play-by-play sports broadcaster who, to date, has called approximately 350+ hours of professional, college, and high school sporting events. He is currently the Play-by-Play Broadcaster for the Lake County Captains, the High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. He graduated from John Carroll University in May of 2023 with a degree in Communication, with a concentration in Digital Media, and a minor in Entrepreneurship.

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