By: BHS Sports Staff
April 11, 2024
The Cleveland Guardians’ season is in full-swing, and they are red hot out of the gates. After playing their first nine games on the road and winning seven of them, it seems like they are doing just fine with their new manager, Stephen Vogt.
While most national writers and baseball “experts” were not high on the Guardians, the Wahoo Warriors are turning heads with their promising start.
The Guardians began their season in Oakland and took three out of four games in the opening series. They then traveled North to Seattle and took two out of three games against the Mariners, a team who many believe is World Series caliber. Lastly, they wrapped up their road trip in Minnesota and took both games against their division rival, the Twins.
Coming home for the home opener after the Solar Eclipse, the Guards beat the White Sox in game one and also took last night’s series finale from the White Sox, which included a Bo Naylor walkoff in the tenth inning.
Currently, the Guardians sport a 9-3 record in this new campaign.
However, news broke last weekend that their ace, Shane Bieber, will undergo surgery to repair his pitching elbow, which will sideline him for the remainder of the season. This is a huge blow to the Guardians starting rotation, as the ace began the season with back-to-back, six-inning shutout performances against Oakland and Seattle. What also stings is that Bieber is in the final year of his contract.
Another injury the rotation suffered was second-year pitcher Gavin Williams, who was placed on the IL after he felt elbow discomfort during Spring Training. However, he will likely be back in rehab in the coming weeks and back with the team in early-mid May.
Going back to the home opener last Monday, Guardians fans saw history at Progressive Field as the path of totality for the Solar Eclipse came through shortly after 3:00 p.m.
As for the game itself, the home team won in front of a sold-out crowd led by Triston McKenzie’s amazing pitching performance and Jose Ramirez’s fifth inning, two-run blast.
In yesterday’s victory over the White Sox, the Naylor brothers made history in the fourth inning by becoming the fourth brother duo to hit home runs in the same inning. Not to mention, this also occurred on National Siblings Day.
Overall, the team has seen strong performances early on from their heavy hitters Steven Kwan, Josh Naylor, and Jose Ramirez. Kwan is hitting .386 with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs, Naylor is hitting .333 with 3 HRs and 9 RBIs, and Ramirez is hitting .268 with 2 HRs and 10 RBIs. Not to mention, the bullpen is ranked number one in Major League Baseball.
The Guardians are faced with a tall task this weekend, as the 10-3 New York Yankees (otherwise known as the Evil Empire) come to town for a three-game, weekend series. This series will show what the Guardians are made of, as the Yankees are stacked from top to bottom.
Baseball is a long season, and 162 games is a marathon; however, the Guardians could not have started off the season better, and this gives us loyal fans a lot of optimism going forward.
To stay up-to-date with the Guardians’ stats and highlights, click here.
Go Tribe! Go Guards!
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