A weeklong road trip did nothing to slow the momentum of the Cleveland Guardians. They went 5-1 against the New York Mets and Chicago White Sox to enhance their pursuit of the New York Yankees for the final American League wild-card berth.
Cleveland opens an all-interleague homestand on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins. Guardians left-hander Logan Allen (7-9, 3.96 ERA) takes on Marlins right-hander Janson Junk (6-2, 3.97 ERA) to start their three-game series. Both teams were off Monday.
“We just keep stacking wins,” said Cleveland first baseman Kyle Manzardo, who is batting .383 with four homers and 12 RBIs over his last 15 games. “It’s awesome, probably what we sort of expect from ourselves.”
Manzardo went deep twice Sunday as the White Sox salvaged a 6-4 win in the series finale, hitting solo shots off starter Davis Martin and Jordan Leasure for his third multi-homer performance.
His hot streak has mirrored that of the Guardians, who are 21-8 since losing 10 straight. That includes a 9-2 run since July 29. Manzardo has upped his season average to .244 and ranks 21st in the AL with 20 homers.
“I’m just trying to hunt pitches over the plate,” he said. “Trying to use the whole field and take whatever they give me and just compete.”
Allen will face the Marlins for the third straight season after going 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in his first two outings. He is 7-4 with a 3.90 ERA in 19 career interleague games while averaging slightly more than five innings per start.
In his most recent appearance on Aug. 5 against the Mets, Allen struck out six over five innings and gave up one earned run in a no-decision. He has lost two of his last three starts at home, the victory coming against the Colorado Rockies on July 29.
The Marlins pulled themselves into the periphery of the National League wild-card race by winning five in a row over the St. Louis Cardinals and Yankees from July 29 to Aug. 3, but they’ve gone 2-6 since.
Tyler Zuber was torched for four runs and a pair of homers while only retiring two batters in relief Sunday, which helped send the Marlins to a 7-1 defeat at Atlanta. Former Guardians pitcher Cal Quantrill started for Miami but left after four innings of one-run ball due to an illness.
The Marlins lost four times in the five-game series — squandering leads in three of them. Miami has used 22 rookies this season under first-year manager Clayton McCullough, including outfielder Heriberto Hernandez, who had three hits and four RBIs in Atlanta.
“Every day up here, every experience they gain, they just store it away,” McCullough said. “It helps solidify their belief they can play here.”
Junk is having a breakout season at age 25 after bouncing between the Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics and the minors in his first four years. After making 15 combined MLB appearances during that span, he has already logged 14 with Miami.
The Marlins have won his last three starts, including 6-4 over the Houston Astros on Aug. 6 as Junk allowed three runs in five innings to pick up the win. He has yet to face Cleveland.
“When guys get on, they know I’m going to be in the zone, so the biggest thing for me is executing my pitches a little better,” Junk said. “When I want to go away, miss away, instead of the ones that leak over (the plate) a little bit and find barrel.”
–Field Level Media
