Field Level Media
23 May 2022, 17:10 GMT+10
One by-product of carrying the youngest roster in the majors is the occasional defensive lapse that proves costly, and for the Cleveland Guardians, mistakes are part of the growing process.
The Guardians lost for the sixth time in eight games Sunday, 4-2 at home to the Detroit Tigers.
Cleveland, set to embark on a seven-game trip that begins Monday night against the Houston Astros, surrendered an unearned run that undermined a strong start by right-hander Shane Bieber on Sunday. The Guardians entered the game third in the majors in defensive runs saved, but inconsistency has been a bit of a bugaboo.
"I think that's part of how we can be a good team," Guardians manager Terry Francona said. "We're going to have to find the combinations where we're clean defensively. And it hasn't been that easy to this point in the season.
"We're working on it, but I can't tell you that I can snap my fingers tomorrow and we're going to be the best defensive team at every position. That's probably not the case."
Right-hander Zach Plesac (1-3, 4.42 ERA) is the scheduled starter for Cleveland on Monday. He is winless over his last four starts, going 0-2 with a 6.86 ERA and an opponent OPS of .811.
However, after allowing 17 runs (14 earned) in his prior three starts, Plesac recorded a quality start, his second of the season, against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday. He allowed two runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts over six innings while not factoring into the decision of a 5-4 loss.
Plesac has faced the Astros once, allowing four runs on six hits and three walks over five innings in a 10-4 home win during his rookie season on July 31, 2019.
Right-hander Luis Garcia (3-2, 3.35) has the starting assignment for Houston on Monday.
He is coming off his worst start of the season, having allowed five runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts over four innings in a 5-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday.
Garcia had surrendered a total of three earned runs on 12 hits and five walks with 23 strikeouts in his previous three starts, going 2-1 with a 1.50 ERA in that stretch.
Garcia has faced the Guardians once, pitching six shutout innings while allowing three hits and recording eight strikeouts in a 9-3 home victory last July 20.
Houston second baseman Jose Altuve maintained his torrid pace this month. He recorded his seventh multi-hit game in May by going 2-for-4 with a home run and a double in the Astros' 5-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday, a win that clinched the four-game weekend series for the Astros.
Altuve hit his league-leading fifth leadoff home run, his ninth homer overall this season, and scored a pair of runs.
Altuve missed 11 games with a left-hamstring strain last month. Since his return on May 2, he is batting .343 with 18 runs scored and 11 RBIs. Among his 24 hits, 13 have been for extra bases, including eight home runs. Houston is 15-3 in the 18 games Altuve has started since he was reinstated from the 10-day injured list.
"He's our igniter," Astros manager Dusty Baker said. "He starts our engine. Since he came back from the IL he's increased 60, 70 points on his batting average. He's feeling pretty good about himself. He's running good, and we certainly miss him when he's not in the lineup."
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of Boston Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Boston Star.
More InformationRIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: At a two-day summit over the weekend, the BRICS bloc of emerging economies issued a joint declaration condemning...
LONDON, U.K.: This week, BP appointed Simon Henry, former Shell finance chief, to its board as a non-executive director effective September...
OTTAWA, Canada: With Canada Post struggling to maintain operations amid labour unrest, rivals like FedEx and UPS are stepping in to...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. and global markets showed a mixed performance in Tuesday's trading session, with some indices edging higher...
PARIS, France: French military and intelligence officials have accused China of orchestrating a covert campaign to damage the reputation...
NEW DELHI, India: Birkenstock is stepping up its efforts to protect its iconic sandals in India, as local legal representatives conducted...
FRANKLIN, Tennessee: Hundreds of thousands of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles are being recalled across the United States due to a potential...
New Delhi [India], July 9 (ANI): As Indian savers increasingly explore mutual funds, pensions, and direct investments, among others,...
(Photo credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images) Masataka Yoshida is expected to be in the lineup when the Boston Red Sox try to complete...
(Photo credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images) Brayan Bello pitched a complete game and struck out 10 to help the Boston Red Sox extend...
(Photo credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images) Washington and Kelly Olynyk barely got to know one another, as the Wizards dealt the newly...
(Photo credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images) Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz returned to the seven-day concussion list Tuesday...