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Guardians starting rotation has near-record streak snapped after incredible September run
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- Guardians starting rotation has near-record streak snapped after incredible September run
CLEVELAND — The Guardians rotation better resembled a freight train for most of September, and the group nearly pulled off a streak that hadn't been equaled in more than 100 years of baseball.
While the Guardians have surged in the standings and become the story of baseball over the last few months, it was a six-man starting rotation that powered it more than anything else — though their brand of " Guards Ball " seemed to always come through on the offensive end, too.
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For 19 games, Cleveland's rotation was the best in baseball , posting an MLB-best 1.35 ERA in 120 innings.
The six-man staff of Gavin Williams , Tanner Bibee , Slade Cecconi , Logan Allen , Joey Cantillo and Parker Messick combined to throw 19 consecutive starts in which they allowed two or fewer runs. Only the 1917 Chicago White Sox have a longer streak (20) since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893. The Guardians are only the second rotation to have such a 19-start run in the last 100 years, joining the 2019 Tampa Bay Rays .
They went 17-2 in those 19 games, which allowed them to remain in the wild card race and at least momentarily overtake the Detroit Tigers , a team they trailed in the division race by 10 games when the streak started.
"Those guys compete with each other, and that's the truth," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "When they take the mound, they want to give us a chance to win. And, man, have they stepped up in the last few weeks."
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The Guardians moved to a six-man rotation a few weeks ago in part to ensure no individual starter became overworked as they made their playoff push deep into the season. It had the added benefit of leading to the game's best streak of starting pitching in years.
Five of the six pitchers — all but Messick — had individual ERAs under 2.00. Allen (0.69) and Cecconi (0.87) were especially dominant.
The run of starting pitching supremacy was snapped Sept. 25 in the Guardians' 4-2 loss to the Tigers in which Messick was tagged for three solo home runs and four earned runs total.
The night prior, Bibee managed to grind through his outing without his best stuff, but he turned in a strong start that led to a crucial Cleveland win. That was start No. 19 in a row with two or fewer earned runs allowed, and it was perhaps the biggest.
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"I feel like whenever I go out there every five, six, seven days — whatever it is — I'm going to leave it all out there," Bibee said. "Tonight, I didn't really have my best stuff the first couple of innings and threw a lot of pitches, and then the last two innings I kind of figured it out."
David Fry injury update after being hit by pitch
It was only Tuesday night, Sept. 23, that David Fry was hit in the face by a 99-mph pitch by Tigers ace Tarik Skubal . Less than 48 hours later, Fry planned to be at the ballpark again, according to Vogt.
Fry sustained nasal and facial fractures, but has a chance to avoid surgery. He's expected to be recovering from the incident for six to eight weeks.
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Vogt was thrilled to announce Fry was planning to come to the Sept. 25 game.
"He's doing a lot better," Vogt said. "He won't be in the dugout or anything, but he felt up to come say hi to the boys and get checked on. So he's doing great. He's with his family. Obviously he's still banged up, but we just missed him last night. It was definitely a void, and it'll be good to see him."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians starting rotation has near-record streak of 19 starts
