No surprise -- Guardians counting on starting pitching as playoffs begin
Oct. 6—The Guardians have no secret weapon they are waiting to unveil in the wild-card playoffs, no new strategy the Tampa Bay Rays won't be ready for when the best-of-three series begins Oct. 7 at Progressive Field.
Pitching and timely hitting, but mostly pitching, carried the Guardians to 92 victories and the 2022 American League Central Division championship. The Guards will count on the same formula in the postseason.
The Guardians were 68-61 and in first place by one game over the Twins on Sept. 1. By the time they clinched on Sept. 25, they were 86-67 and had a 10-game lead on the second-place White Sox. From Sept. 5 through Oct. 2 the Guardians were 22-5 (.815) — the best winning percentage among all 30 MLB teams in the four-week stretch.
Storming to the division title without drama in the final days of the regular season allowed manager Terry Francona to set up his rotation so Shane Bieber could pitch Game 1 on the normal four days rest. Not only that, but since Bieber's final start of the regular season Oct. 2 was not a must win, Francona had the luxury of being able to replace Bieber after his ace threw 80 pitches through five innings.
Triston McKenzie, slated to pitch Game 2 of the Wildcard series on Oct. 8, started against the Royals on Oct. 3 and was removed after throwing 73 pitches through five innings.
Cal Quantrill will pitch Game 3 if the Guards and Rays split the first two games. He also would be pitching on his normal four days rest.
Bieber, the 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner, finished 13-8 in the 2022 regular season. He was 4-6 after losing to the White Sox on July 24.
In a stretch that began with his complete-game, 4-1 victory over the White Sox (including the loss to Chicago 12 days later), Bieber pitched at least six innings in 14 consecutive starts until the streak ended with his planned early exit against the Royals Oct. 2. Bieber finished with exactly 200 innings pitched.
"I know he was looking at that and I don't blame him," Francona said. "I think that's quite an accomplishment. The fact that he's not on fumes getting there is good for us and great for him.
"Because I'm privy to it, I get to see how hard these guys work to get where they are and stay where they are, so it's not surprising. Because they do a really good job. Our medical people, our strength and conditioning people, they stay on this stuff a lot."
Bieber's consistency over the last three months suggests he should pitch deep into his start Oct. 7 against the Rays. He has started only one other game in the postseason and it was a night he would like to forget.
Bieber led both leagues in victories (eight), ERA (1.63) and strikeouts (122) in the COVID-shortened 2020 season when he won the Cy Young Award, but he was thumped by the Yankees, giving up seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings in his only playoff appearance. The Indians lost, 13-2, and made a quick, quiet exit from the playoffs.
McKenzie, 25 years old, was 5-9 with a 4.95 ERA last season. He finished 11-11 in the regular season this year with a 2.96 ERA while pitching 191 1/3 innings. Appropriately nicknamed "Sticks" because he is 6-foot-5 and weighs only 165 pounds, McKenzie has shown no sign his tank is running low.
"He's learned that he's got another gear, like for his work week," Francona said. "And it wasn't that he wasn't working hard before, but he's finding that other gear and it's allowing him to be much more consistent. You're seeing less fluctuation in his velocity, holding his stuff. He's turning into a really good pitcher. And being dependable is a good word in our game. He's turning into that."
The 73-pitch, five-inning outing against the Royals in his final regular-season start set McKenzie up perfectly for the first postseason start of his career. He will be pitching either to clinch the series, which would mean moving on to meet the Yankees in the ALDS, or he will be pitching to even the series if the Guardians lose Game 1.
"Every year, I prove to myself that I can compete at this level and I can compete day-in and day-out," McKenzie said. "This year was a testament to that.
"I tried to use tonight (the game with the Royals) as a tester. There were a lot of nerves for everybody even moving into this last stretch of games before the playoffs. I was just trying to get my mind right for the playoffs and let myself know it was just another game."
Quantrill has quietly been the team's most consistent starter this season. He has also been the fortunate beneficiary of tremendous run support. He has never lost at Progressive Field — not just this season, but throughout his career. He is 14-0 over 43 games, 33 of them starts.
"I spent a couple of weeks trying to come up with a good (explanation) for you," Quantrill said after beating the Royals Oct 4. "I don't know. I try to keep the boys in the game. I trust that if I come out of a game with the lead that they'll keep it, and if I don't that they'll score. I don't have a magic formula for you. I just compete."
Quantrill (15-5) leads the Guardians in victories. The Guards average 6.25 runs a game when he pitches. The only pitcher in the American League with better run support (6.30 runs per game) is Jameson Tallion of the Yankees.
Fortune smiled on the Guardians in another way this season. Bieber and McKenzie each stayed healthy enough to make 31 starts. The Oct. 4 against Kansas City was the 32nd for Quantrill.
Emmanuel Clase reacts after a groundout by the Angels' Matt Duffy during the ninth inning Sept. 13. The Guardians won, 3-1. (David Dermer ??
The bullpen has also been superb for the Guardians.
Only the Braves, Astros and Brewers have more than the 51 saves recorded by the Guardians. Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase led the majors with 42 saves.
Clase earned his 42nd save on Oct. 4. He will be well rested and ready to pitch in all three playoff games if the Guardians need him.
"With good players — pitchers, players— if they're good enough you see them make adjustments," Francona said. "The first time last April he was going to go back-to-back, he looked at me funny. (Former reliever Bryan) Shaw was like 'That's what we do.' And he's grown into where now he's pitched three days in a row, four out of five.
"Some of that is he's so efficient with his pitches because he's good. But he warms up really well for a young guy. He doesn't waste much down in the bullpen."
Clase led the Majors with 77 appearances and 67 games finished in 2022. He threw 921 pitches. Liam Hendricks of the White Sox was second in the American League with 37 saves. He pitched in 58 games — 19 fewer than Clase, and with 948 threw 27 more pitches.
