TRIDENTS DOWN
The MLB Twitter admin released a power rankings for the starting rotations at the beginning of the year. Seattle sat atop at number one and in reading the article, the decision was not very difficult for them to come to. As always, it was Ohio Against the World coming to the PNW. The Guardians did what they do best, chopped the head off the snake, came out on top, and made the MLB Admin eat their words, resulting in the Guards appearing on MLB’s Twitter Timeline every day for a week, quite possibly for the first time ever.
Game 1: Triston Mckenzie vs. Emerson Hancock
This game frustrated me a bit, I won’t lie. I felt like if the Guardians were going to win a certain game this series, it was this one, being that Emerson Hancock is the only pitcher we were facing who would likely not be in the running for CY votes. I was wrong. Very wrong.
The guards went down 5-2 in an unexpectedly tough outing by Sticks. They battled back and ended up losing a 5-4 game, which made it sting a little less because we got to see the kids scrap back and give themselves a shot. But this game kept me up at night for one main reason; is Triston ok?
Triston’s velocity on his fastball dipped down to 89mph. His slider was 88 mph. This simply is not going to work. I think it was this separation that made him easy to hit. It also seemed like every time he missed, it was high and over the plate. Both of these things are telltale signs of an injury, especially on a pitcher who was supposed to be 100% to start the season. I noticed these glaring details in his last spring start, but everyone on Twitter told me to stop worrying. So I did. Now, he had a very similar outing in his first regular-season start, and you can now color me concerned.
Game 2: Shane Bieber vs. Luis Castillo
Lemme just start by saying, Shane Bieber is back man. Every time I see him pitch in person, it gives me goosebumps. He went 6 innings, with 9 strikeouts, and no walks. Over his first two starts, he has not allowed a run and has recorded 20 punch-outs. It’s just gross, man.
You could say I have come to expect a great outing from Bieber. I cannot say I expected us to knock around Luis Castillo. The Guardians hit Luis Castillo 10 times and Bo Naylor took him deep to right center. Eli Morgan, who still kind of sucks, came in and blew the shutout. But Barlow, Beede, and Clase finished the job with two baserunners, a walk from Beede, and a hit on Clase.
Game 3: Logan Allen vs. George Kirby
Again, I don’t think a lot of people would look at this matchup on paper and guess the outcome. George Kirby has been a very sneaky top pitcher in the majors the last two years with a career WHIP of 1.1 and 3.3 ERA. Kirby has historically shut down the Guards, allowing just two runs in 9 innings. Logan was coming off a pretty “Eh” start to his 2024 campaign against a very bad Oakland team, giving up two HRs in 5 innings. The stars just didn’t seem to align for us here.
UNTIL THEY DID. With the help of a Kwan Single, a Jose Double, and a Will Brennan Single, the Guardians were up 3-0 before Logan Allen even took the bump. Rocchio, Kwan, and Gime kept on hitting and the Guards kept on scoring, up 5-0 before the bottom of the 2nd. Fast Forward to the 4th and Kwan, Gimenez, Jose, and Brennan all record another hit to bring the grand total to 8 runs. Yes, the Guardians had 10 hits and 8 runs on George Kirby.
After George Kirby took a seat in the dugout, my girlfriend and I looked up and couldn’t believe it. About 100 birds were circling the dead carcass of the Mariner’s starting rotation.
Ultimately, Logan Allen would throw a 6.2-inning GEM. Giving up just 4 hits and sitting down 6 on strikes, he would hand the Mariners their second shutout loss so far this year. The best pitcher of the game for Seattle would end up being Josh Rojas… yes, the Mariner’s part-time third baseman, who closed the game out and did not give up a knock. Every time he threw the ball, the T-Mobile Radar Gun would read “Curveball” which is funny because it didn’t curve much. It had just never displayed “65mph Fastball” before.
So basically, the Guardians came to Seattle, starting their season on the road, and faced two pitchers competing for the Ace spot on one of the best starting rotations in baseball. The Guardians proceeded to knock the living shit out of them for 20 hits and 12 runs. Our boys lead the league in run differential (+28) and have started the Vogt Era at a cool 5-2. Heading to Minnesota to play our first divisional series, here’s to the bats staying hot and the beer cold. Go Guards.
