Travis Bazzana Makes Strong First Impression as Guardians Leadoff Hitter
Travis Bazzana has been as-adivrited in his first two games as the Cleveland Guardians' leadoff hitter.
Video Transcript
Ever since the Cleveland Guardians called up Travis Bazan, the writing has been on the wall.
It was never a matter of if Bazan would end up hitting leadoff, it was more a question of when.
And when the Guardians ended up taking Steven Kwan out of that position to take some pressure off him, everyone was really waiting for when Bazan would be the leadoff hitter.
And on Saturday evening, that's exactly what happened, as the Guardians finally put Bazan as their leadoff hitter, and on Sunday, the same thing, signaling this is probably going to be a long-term move for the Guardians and Bazan.
And so far, through the first two games, Bazan is making a strong first impression that this was the right decision by Cleveland.
In that first game, he ended up going one for four at the plate.
He came ahead a double off closer Johan Duran.
But it wasn't just about the success at the plate.
The process was also there as well.
Bazan ended up seeing a total of 13 pitches in those four plate appearances, which included a six-pitch battle against Zach Wheeler.
Unfortunately, Bazan did not come off on the winning end of that.
But a leadoff hitter's job isn't just to get on base or get hits or steal bases.
It's to set the tone for the lineup, see as many pitches as possible, and he did that on Saturday against the Phillies.
Then on Sunday, he had another three-hit game, the second of his career, which included an absolute moonshot to the second deck on the-- in the fifth inning, which again just goes to show the well-rounded player Bazan is, is as well.
When Bazan was hitting really well a w-- couple weeks ago, he talked about how he just focuses in on his process.
And if he continues that process moving up to the leadoff spot, Bazan is going to be a successful leadoff hitter for the Guardians for years to come.
