The Guardians didn’t leave Progressive Field with the win Saturday night, but they may have come away with something the rest of the ALCS can’t ignore: Travis Bazzana looking like himself again.
Cleveland’s rookie second baseman finally broke through in Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays, reaching base three times and delivering the biggest swing of the night for the Guardians in a 7-3 loss. In a series now tied at two games apiece, that kind of performance might matter just as much as the final score.
Bazzana’s line said it all: 2-3 with a home run, a walk, a run scored and an RBI. His biggest moment came in the seventh inning after Tampa Bay had pushed the game out to 5-1 with a three-run burst.
Bazzana stepped in, squared up a pitch and sent it into the right field bleachers for a solo shot that registered 107.8 mph off the bat. The blast sparked a brief Cleveland push, as Patrick Bailey, pinch hitter Angel Martínez and Brayan Rocchio followed with three straight singles to trim the deficit to 5-3.
His earlier single came off the bat hard, too, at 98.9 mph.
For a player who had been looking for his October breakout, Saturday was a clear step forward. Through the first three games of the ALCS, Bazzana had just two hits in 11 at bats.
The postseason has been a tougher grind overall as well, with the White Sox throwing five different left-handed pitchers at him in the division series. Game 4 was easily his best showing yet.
The night wasn’t spotless. Bazzana committed an error at second base in the first inning, though Shawn Armstrong bailed him out and kept the Rays off the board. But the bat is what Cleveland will remember most.
It looked a lot like the version of Bazzana the Guardians rode in September. He closed the regular season on a tear, hitting six home runs with a .613 slugging percentage and a .978 OPS over the final month.
The former No. 1 overall pick made the American League All-Star team as a rookie and finished the year with 15 homers and 40 extra-base hits. Over one 19-game stretch late in the season, he hit .318 with six home runs, helping push Cleveland past the White Sox in the division race.
That’s the player the Guardians need now. Tampa Bay’s pitching staff leans heavily on right-handers, a setup that fits Bazzana’s left-handed bat, and Game 5 will bring another one in Rays ace Drew Rasmussen. The matchup gives Cleveland’s rookie a chance to keep building on what he started Saturday.
The Guardians will need production from all over the lineup in what has become a best-of-three battle. José Ramírez is hitting .400 in the ALCS, Chase DeLauter has been one of the toughest outs in the lineup, and Bailey has come through with several big hits. If Bazzana can stay in that mix, Cleveland’s offense suddenly looks a lot deeper.
On a night when the Guardians didn’t get the result they wanted, Bazzana found his October swing. That may be the biggest takeaway of all.
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Guardians Loss May Have Quietly Set Up The Rest Of This Series
The Guardians did enough early to make Game 4 feel like a chance to even the ALCS, but the game slipped away once the Rays pushed across runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Even so, the loss may not have been as damaging as it first looked, because Cleveland managed to avoid leaning too heavily on the bullpen and preserve its most important relief arms for the rest of the series.
That matters with the matchup still hanging in the balance, especially after Tampa Bay also went through several pitchers in the same game. Both clubs now have some moving pieces to sort through on the mound, and the way each staff is managed over the next few days could end up shaping the rest of the series just as much as the score from Game 4. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Face A Real October Decision On Travis Bazzana
Travis Bazzana has given the Guardians enough at the plate to keep his name in the lineup conversation, but the glove has made things a little less straightforward as October has worn on. The rookie second baseman has flashed real offensive value, yet his seven errors at the position have become hard to ignore, and the latest reminder came in a recent game against the Rays.
Stephen Vogt has already shown he is willing to make a late-game switch at second, turning to Angel Genao in postseason situations to tighten things up defensively. So the question hanging over Cleveland is a familiar one for any contender with a young infielder in the spotlight: how much offense can they afford to keep in the lineup if the defense keeps giving away outs? [Read more 🡒]
Tanner Bibees New Postseason Role Says Plenty About Clevelands ALCS Crunch
Tanner Bibee went from opening day starter to a different kind of October weapon for Cleveland, and that shift says plenty about how the Guardians are trying to survive the grind of the postseason. After making only one brief appearance in the playoffs, Bibee is now being slotted by Stephen Vogt as a length option and bulk reliever, a role that can bridge innings when the bullpen needs help and the game threatens to drift into the late stages.
Vogts view of Bibee also hints at how tightly the Guardians have to manage every arm as the schedule gets more demanding. With the club moving deeper into the ALCS picture, Bibee looks likely to be part of the plan in the coming games, whether the situation calls for extra innings support or simply someone who can take the ball and keep Cleveland in range. [Read more 🡒]