The Cleveland Guardians have won three straight games to remain in first place in the American League Central.
It’s up to struggling right-hander Tanner Bibee to keep the momentum going Saturday night when the Guardians continue a three-game series against the visiting Minnesota Twins.
Bibee (0-5, 4.58 ERA) will oppose Twins right-hander Joe Ryan (2-3, 3.72) as Bibee attempts to turn his season around.
The Guardians are 1-7 in his eight starts, but five of them easily could have been wins if their offense had produced. Cleveland has three total runs in the four games in which Bibee has allowed two or fewer runs.
“I feel what the hitters do is their thing and what I do on the mound is a completely independent thing,” Bibee said. “It’s completely unrelated. I’ve said it before, but I’m playing a different sport than the other nine guys on the field.”
If recent trends hold, this matchup looks like a great opportunity for him to ride the wave. The Guardians are 10-4 against Minnesota since the start of last season and 22-9 against the Twins at home over the past four years.
Bibee has never lost to Minnesota, posting a 2-0 record in nine starts since 2023. He has 55 strikeouts over 51 1/3 innings, while his 2.98 ERA is his best against an AL foe.
Being in Cleveland also favors Bibee, who has a 1.66 ERA at home this season and an 8.15 ERA on the road. He has pitched four times in each location.
“Some places give you more confidence, and some places you just feel right,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “For Tanner, it’s just continuing to pound the strike zone. It’s his two fastballs putting him in the right spots, and the good change of speeds.”
The Twins have lost 16 of their last 21 games, including a 6-4 defeat Friday in the series opener. Cleveland rookie Travis Bazzana hit his first major league homer, scored a pair of runs and stole two bases, partially negating Minnesota’s season-high 13 hits.
Center fielder Byron Buxton continued his torrid power run with his team-high 12th home run for Minnesota, moving within three of MLB co-leaders Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox.
All 12 of Buxton’s blasts have occurred since April 13, when he snapped a 14-game homerless drought to start the season. It followed his participation in the World Baseball Classic, where he logged only seven at-bats for the runner-up United States.
“Bux is swinging the bat really well,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “In spring training, he was a little bit rusty. He didn’t get many at-bats in the WBC, so it just took him a little time to get going.”
Shelton was less pleased with another event Friday. All four umpires declined to call obstruction on Cleveland runner Angel Martinez after he grazed Twins second baseman Luke Keaschall on what became a fielding error by Keaschall in the four-run first inning.
“The rule is hinder and impede,” Shelton said. “There was contact there, but the umpiring crew didn’t think he was hindering him.”
Ryan has lost five straight games over the last three years to the Guardians, dropping his career record against them to 3-5 with a 2.94 ERA in 12 games. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh at Cleveland on Sept. 8, 2021, for his initial win in the majors.
–Field Level Media
