Guardians Series Review: Guards show promise against Royals
By Chad Porto
The Cleveland Guardians showed promise against the Kansas City Royals.
The Cleveland Guardians had an interesting weekend (plus Monday) series with the Kansas City Royals. The two teams played four games and ended up splitting them 2-2. The Guardians had a pretty uneven first two games, putting together great pitching outings, but failing to show up at the plate.
Subsequently, the fourth game saw the pitching go belly-up, but the offense carry the load.
It was the third game, however, that the Guards showed what they were capable of being, as they not only shut down a potent Royals offense but obliterated their sketchy pitching. It was a series of two halves and while we don’t know which one is more accurate to this Guardians team, we do know that it’s going to be interesting to see it play out.
Defense is going to be an issue, especially if Terry Francona keeps putting Amed Rosario in the outfield.
Now as a quick mention, we’ll be doing these series recaps all season long, but they may look different as the year progresses as I experiment and try to find the right way to format this recurring article.
Breaking down the Guardians’ opening series of the season
Game Notes:
Yu Chang didn’t look good, striking out twice. Shane Bieber pitched less than five innings, but as mentioned numerous times during the radio broadcast, normally we’d be only in week four of spring training at this point in a given season, given how many days it has been since spring training started. Guys are still finding their rhythm and getting their endurance up. Triston McKenzie looked good in relief and his 2022 season should be a huge leap from previous outings.
While some believe huge strikeout numbers are offset by home run hitting, that has proven to be a lie time and time again. Franmil Reyes will be an issue if he keeps striking out multiple times a game. He finished 2021 with more strikeouts than hits. He and Bobby Bradley need to fix this shared issue. Austin Hedges is proving to be a liability offensively to such a degree that even if he were Pudge Rodriguez and Johnny Bench combined defensively, he wouldn’t be worth carrying on the main roster. Zach Plesac had a very good outing and may have pitched the best of anyone in the opening series.
Steven Kwan went 5-5 with four runs in Game 3, starting the push for Rookie of the Year in earnest. Jose Ramirez had three RBI, while Owen Miller looked like 2021, first-half, Triple-A Miller, then post-call-up Miller. Reyes continues to strike out at an alarming rate, registering another two strikeouts. Miller (4) and Oscar Mercado (5) lead the day in RBIs.
Kwan and Mercado walk three times apiece, something to expect from Kwan, but possibly a sign that Mercado is someone to rely on. Two good games in a row? He even had three more RBIs in this game. Impressive. Unlike Aaron Civale, who struggled despite a good spring. Miller had his second three-plus RBI game in a row. Maybe it’s time to make him the everyday starter over Bradley? As bad as Rosario is defensively in the outfield, he’s a very good hitter.
Top 5 Series Performers
Steven Qwan
.692, 3 RBI, 6 runs, 5 walks
Owen Miller
.545, 7 RBI, 4 runs, 1 walk.
Oscar Mercado
.187, 8 RBI, 2 HRs, 2 runs
Zach Plesac
5.2 IP, 3 hits, 3 strikeouts
Jose Ramirez
.375, 5 RBI, 1 HR, 2 BB
Next. Grading the Cleveland Guardians Opening Day roster by position. dark