Left-hander Logan Allen is expected to make his major league debut on Sunday afternoon as the Cleveland Guardians aim to salvage the finale of a three-game series vs. the visiting Miami Marlins.
Allen likely will be activated on Sunday morning by the Guardians, who have lost five of their past six games following defeats of 6-1 and 3-2 in a doubleheader on Saturday.
Miami, in turn, has won eight of its past 10 contests. The Marlins will bid for their first series sweep of the season.
Allen, a second-round pick in the 2020 draft, posted a 1.26 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings during three starts for Triple-A Columbus this season. That fast start led to Clippers manager Andy Tracy recently summoning the 24-year-old into his office.
“I know it’s his style to mess with the guys a little bit,” Allen said of Tracy, per The Plain Dealer of Cleveland. “He had me kind of thrown for a loop, and then he told me that I’d have a start in Cleveland and there was a lot of joy and everything. It was awesome.”
Whether Allen records an awesome performance on Sunday isn’t of the utmost importance in the eyes of Cleveland manager Terry Francona. He’s more interested in the long haul.
“I do think when kids come to the major leagues, you have to set some expectations that his first five innings aren’t going to define his career,” Francona said. “But I think there’s so much to like about him that it’s going to be fun to watch his progression.”
Allen would be wise to tread carefully around Miami’s Bryan De La Cruz and Luis Arraez. De La Cruz recorded four doubles and a homer on Saturday, while Arraez had four hits over the two games of the doubleheader.
“We were trying to be aggressive against one of the best pitchers in baseball,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said following the team’s win in the opener against Shane Bieber. “We weren’t going to wait around and felt like we had the right guys on base to put some plays in action. They ran at the right time. Really good team win.”
Miami’s Garrett Hampson made the most of his spot start by driving in two runs and scoring one during the nightcap.
“It’s something I’m used to the last couple of years,” Hampson told Bally Sports Florida. “It’s not easy, but it’s a continuous grind to prepare each day as if you’re playing. You never know the situation where the team needs you.”
Miami totaled 18 hits over the two games on Saturday.
Marlins left-hander Jesus Luzardo (2-0, 2.74 ERA) would relish another offensive uprising by his teammates when he takes the mound on Sunday.
Luzardo, 25, recorded a no-decision Monday after allowing three runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings in his team’s 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Luzardo has yet to face Cleveland in his career.
–Field Level Media
