The Guardians’ Glaring Weakness Is Sinking Them in Embarrassing Fashion

Cleveland’s front office should be under the microscope with the team’s obvious Achilles heel being exploited by the White Sox in the ALDS.

Jose Ramirez has yet to record a hit during the postseason for the Guardians. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Guardians’ offense has not done its part during the ALDS. Cleveland was shut out at home in Game 1, and two of their three runs in Game 2 were scored via an error from White Sox pitcher Sean Newcomb during the first inning.

Despite holding a lead early in Game 2, the Guardians only mustered four hits, and they were held without a single hit from the third inning until the eighth inning, when Chase DeLauter singled and then subsequently scored on a triple from Jo Adell.

It’s hard to call their lack of production an unexpected development, however. Cleveland’s lineup has been one of the worst in MLB all year long, so it should come as no surprise that they weren’t suddenly able to generate runs in October.

It’s fair to call into question the front office and its lack of aggression at the trade deadline. The Guardians did make a pair of moves in an attempt to bolster their lineup in early August, acquiring Nathaniel Lowe from the Reds and Adell from the Angels. In 43 games in Cleveland, Lowe registered a -0.3 bWAR and had a paltry .650 OPS. As for Adell, he played better with the Guardians, logging a .740 OPS across 48 games. Still, their production still scarcely moved the needle for a team that struggled to score all year.

There were a handful of potent bats available at the trade deadline, but Cleveland’s front office was apparently satisfied with the acquisitions of Adell and Lowe. By their standards, it was a fairly aggressive trade deadline, but for a team hoping to compete in October, it still wasn’t enough. And with Jose Ramirez not looking like his usual self at the plate, the need for a game-changing bat was even more dire. Ramirez is hitless through two games this postseason, so having another productive bat in the lineup could’ve made a big difference for the Guardians, especially in Game 2.

Nathaniel Lowe was acquired from the Reds at the trade deadline and went 0-for-4 with an RBI in Game 2. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For a team that was at the bottom of most offensive statistical leaderboards for virtually the entire season, it was disappointing to see the front office not go after a bigger bat at the trade deadline. And that decision has come back to bite Cleveland in October. Adell and Lowe have the team’s two lone RBIs of the postseason thus far, but prior to hitting his triple in the eighth inning, Adell had struck out six times in seven plate appearances, and Lowe has just one hit in two games in October.

During the regular season, Cleveland was one of six teams to record a collective OPS below .700, and it was the only one of those teams that reached the postseason. The team’s .696 OPS was 26th in the majors, and they ranked 27th with 162 home runs and 24th in batting average (.239). They were also the lone team without a single player who hit 20 home runs––Adell technically hit 23, but only seven of those were hit for the Guardians. Angel Martinez’s 18 homers led the team, and there was only one qualified batter on the roster (DeLauter) who registered an OPS above .760.

The Guardians had just three hits in their series-opening loss to the White Sox, getting blanked by Chicago’s bullpen to fall behind in the ALDS, 1–0. Needing a spark in Game 2, the lineup failed to deliver yet again, effectively wasting a strong start from Gavin Williams, who surrendered two runs and struck out 11 batters across five-plus innings.

The White Sox have one of MLB’s weaker pitching staffs. If there was ever a team in the postseason that the Guardians could produce runs against, this was it. Instead, they’ve scored just three runs and have produced only seven hits through the first two games of the series. Chicago’s bullpen has largely silenced Cleveland’s offense, logging 15 innings of work in two games and surrendering just six hits, four walks and one earned run while striking out 17 batters. If the Guardians can’t find a way to get runners on base with some level of consistency, their small ball approach will continue to fall flat.

Set to head to Chicago’s Rate Field for Games 3 and 4, the Guardians will need to win both to force the series to five games and return home to Progressive Field. Teams that lose the first two games at home in a best-of-five series are 3–22 in MLB history, a very unfavorable stat for Cleveland as it looks to stage an improbable comeback, especially considering their best two starters have already thrown.

Perhaps the Guardians just can’t solve White Sox ace Sean Burke, who pitched 5 1/3 innings of near-flawless relief on Monday. (Burke had allowed just two earned runs in 17 2/3 innings this season against Cleveland entering Game 2.) But there sure are a lot of pitchers the Guardians haven’t been able to solve this year.

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