Stephen Vogt’s handling of the Guardians’ loss to the Twins on Saturday left plenty to pick apart, and the biggest question came down to one arm: Franco Aleman.
Cleveland went into the game with a plan to cover the first three innings using Daniel Espino and Aleman. That setup was meant to get the right reliever into the right spot, but Aleman - who has been the worst reliever on the roster and was demoted today - was the one left to navigate the early traffic. He opened by getting a pop-out, then immediately gave up a homer to debuting rookie Emmanuel Rodriguez on a 95 mph fastball right down the middle.
Luke Keaschell followed with a five-pitch at-bat that ended in an 80 mph line drive single that dropped in front of Angel Martinez. At that point, the situation already looked shaky.
Then Aleman added a wild pitch right away and gave up a 60 mph bloop single to Brooks Lee. That was the moment to pull him, especially with Cantillo already throwing in the bullpen.
Vogt, though, stayed with Aleman. Kody Clemens, who crushes RHP, followed with an 83 mph line-drive single in front of Kwan to bring in another run.
Even then, Aleman remained in the game. He struck out Josh Bell, which may have made the decision look workable for a moment, but the bigger picture didn’t change: the pitch count was still low, and he hadn’t allowed another ball over 93 mph after the Rodriguez homer.
Still, leaving him in after that stretch was hard to justify.
Aleman went on to hit two Twins batters before Cantillo finally entered to finish the inning. By then, the four runs Minnesota needed to win were already on the board.
That’s where the concern sits for Cleveland. If the Guardians are going to make the playoffs and matter once they get there, Vogt can’t keep letting situations drift this far.
He has to react to what’s happening in front of him, not what the plan looked like before the inning started. Openers are tricky, sure, but this was a case where the feel of the game needed to win out over the numbers.
To be fair, Vogt has generally made strong pitching decisions when it comes to getting arms in and out of games. The hope is that Saturday was a one-off misread, not the kind of mistake that ends up costing the Guardians the game they needed to reach October.
In Other News...
Brayan Rocchio Just Delivered Another Massive Moment For Cleveland
Brayan Rocchio keeps finding himself in the middle of Clevelands biggest September swings, and he did it again Wednesday night at Progressive Field. The Guardians edged the White Sox 7-6 in walk-off fashion, with Rocchio coming through in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run double that flipped the game and gave Cleveland a jolt in the middle of a tightly packed division race.
The win pulled the Guardians to within half a game of Chicago in the AL Central, which only adds more weight to what comes next in the series finale. For a club trying to climb past the White Sox, these late-inning moments have started to feel less like isolated highlights and more like the kind of plays that can shape an entire chase. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Escaped A Bullpen Meltdown In The Best Possible Way
Brayan Rocchio spent the late innings turning a messy afternoon into something the Guardians could live with, and maybe even enjoy. His two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the ninth delivered a 7-6 walk-off win over the White Sox, rescuing Cleveland after a bullpen stumble erased a two-run lead and flipped the game into a 6-4 deficit by the middle innings.
For a team trying to hold ground in the AL Central, the timing mattered as much as the finish. Cleveland had already watched Chicago take one game in the division race, and a second straight loss would have made the weekend feel far heavier, but Rocchios hit gave the Guardians the best possible escape route and a much cleaner ending than the one they had been headed toward. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Rookie Just Delivered The Response Cleveland Needed Most
Petey Halpin gave the Guardians the kind of answer a young player is often asked to provide, and he did it in a game that carried real weight in the AL Central race. After an early defensive misplay, the rookie settled in and came up with the biggest swing of the night against the White Sox, turning a tight game into a 6-3 Cleveland win that pushed the club into first place.
The performance mattered for more than just the final score. Halpin had not done much in limited success against left-handed pitching before this one, so the go-ahead blast stood out as a clear step forward, especially since it was his first home run off a lefty. Teammates and coaches viewed the night as more than a hot streak, seeing it as a sign of poise and leadership from a player who kept responding after a rough start. [Read more 🡒]