Stephen Vogt’s biggest call in Game 2 came with Gavin Williams cruising, tiring and sitting on 91 pitches in the sixth inning.
Williams had worked through five innings with only one run allowed and 11 strikeouts, handing Vogt a one-run lead and a starter who had been sharp from the jump. The question was how far to push him.
Vogt let him go back out to face Miguel Vargas, and that plate appearance ended with a single on the seventh pitch. At 98 pitches, Williams was lifted and Erik Sabrowski was brought in.
From there, the inning unraveled. Sabrowski and Gaddis combined to allow the inherited runner to score and then gave up two more runs as the White Sox turned the game around. Once the bullpen door opened, Chicago kept finding traffic.
Afterward, Vogt explained why he made the move when he did.
“If he has to face two more hitters, now you’re running him up to 110, 115 [pitches],” Vogt said. “It was the right time to get him out of there.
He pitched his backside off. Just unfortunate we were not able to get the result.”
That’s the kind of decision that gets replayed endlessly once the final score is in the books. Williams has the reputation of being able to carry a heavy load, and he’s shown he can go past 100 pitches when needed.
Maybe he could have handled another hitter or two. Maybe the inning ends differently if he stays in.
But in the moment, with his pitch count climbing and the bullpen ready, Vogt’s choice was hardly out of line.
It just didn’t work.
The Guardians lost again, and the bigger picture is getting ugly fast. They’ve now dropped both games started by their two aces, Parker Messick and Williams, and they head to Chicago down 0-2 with the next two games there. The debate over that sixth inning will linger, but the result is already on the board.
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Steven Kwan Just Made Clevelands Long Term Outlook More Complicated
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The Guardians got plenty of return on that bet, with Kwan helping power a run to the American League Central title. But his rising cost is part of a bigger picture for a club that also expects Cade Smith to land at $5.5 million in arbitration and remain the teams long-term closer, which means Clevelands most important young pieces are getting expensive fast and the front office will have some choices to make. [Read more 🡒]