The Guardians’ offensive problems go deeper than the familiar batting average and OPS numbers with runners in scoring position. The bigger issue, according to The Athletic’s Zack Meisel, is that Cleveland is struggling to do the simplest job in baseball: move runners when it matters.
Meisel pointed to two situational numbers that capture the slide. In plate appearances with a runner on third and less than two outs, Cleveland has scored that runner 45.0 percent of the time.
Only the Cincinnati Reds have been worse. In plate appearances with a runner on second and no outs, the Guardians have advanced the runner just 42.1 percent of the time, the lowest mark in the league.
Those are the kinds of plays that keep innings alive and turn pressure into runs - the productive outs, the sacrifice flies, the ground balls to the right side that good teams use to squeeze out offense when the hit isn’t there. Instead, Cleveland has repeatedly put traffic on the bases during its recent skid and then stalled out before cashing it in.
The numbers also line up with what Stephen Vogt and Chase DeLauter have been saying lately. Both have pointed to the mental side of scoring-position situations as a major problem, and Meisel’s breakdown backs that up by showing the Guardians are failing even in spots where a base hit isn’t required.
If Cleveland can start turning those routine advancement chances into league-average production, the roster still has enough talent to get back into the postseason race.
In Other News...
Guardians Bullpen Doubts Keep Growing As One Former Arm Thrives Elsewhere
The Guardians bullpen picture has only gotten murkier as the season has gone on, and Matt Festa has become part of that conversation. The right-hander has worked plenty of innings for Cleveland, appearing in 51 games, but his 4.22 ERA reflects the uneven results that have made late-game trust harder to sort out in the relief corps.
Elsewhere, Justin Bruihl has found a steadier lane in St. Louis after a brief stop in Cleveland, where the lefty fit a similar middle-relief mold. With the Cardinals, he has been more effective and has earned work in higher-leverage spots, a contrast that only sharpens the questions around how much dependable depth the Guardians really have behind their bigger bullpen names. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Playoff Push Is Being Dragged Down By One Infield Problem
Brayan Rocchios season-long value at shortstop has been undercut by a slump that has come at the worst possible time for Clevelands playoff hopes. Since late July, the young infielder has been stuck in a brutal stretch at the plate, and Jos Ramrez has not fully shaken off the effects of his injury layoff either, leaving the middle of the lineup thinner than the Guardians would like as the race tightens.
The numbers behind the downturn are hard to ignore. Rocchio has hit just .109 over his last 15 games since July 25, and he and Ramrez have combined to go 16-for-103 in that span. With those two key bats struggling at the same time, the Guardians have watched their postseason position slip, turning what had been an encouraging push into a more urgent search for offense. [Read more 🡒]