CLEVELAND — Since Friday, Austin Hedges has been wearing a red T-shirt that reads “Chicks Dig The Long Ball.” It was recently mailed to Cleveland Guardians starter Triston McKenzie, who passed it on to his catcher. Hedges snipped the sleeves and the midriff to convert the shirt into a crop top.
Hedges said Wednesday morning the shirt “is hot,” and while, yes, that’s a reference to his exposed bellybutton, it’s more a nod to the reason he has worn it before each of the last six games: The Guardians haven’t lost.
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Through 50 games, they sit at 33-17. As of late Wednesday afternoon, only the Philadelphia Phillies boasted a better record. They swept the Minnesota Twins over the weekend. They swept the New York Mets to start this week. Next, they head out on a trip to battle two of the lowest clubs in the game, the Los Angeles Angels and Colorado Rockies.
Everything they do is working.
Take, for instance, the heartbeat of the lineup so far this season (or at least since Steven Kwan landed on the injured list). On Nov. 22, 2021, the Guardians flipped pitcher J.C. Mejía to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named. Cleveland had targeted David Fry, but he was eligible for the Rule 5 draft. If another team selected Fry, the Guardians would have chosen a different player. Instead, the league entered a 99-day lockout, which wiped out the Rule 5 draft altogether. Fry reported to Brewers spring training, and on his first day in camp, in the middle of a catching session, a team official told him he was being traded to Cleveland.
Fast forward two years. Fry’s statue is being erected on the center field plaza, fit with him gripping the golden bat that has produced a 1.076 OPS. Manager Stephen Vogt referred to him as the team’s “heart and soul behind the scenes.” Mejía, meanwhile, is serving his second PED suspension, this one a 162-game ban.
It is David Fry's world and we are just living in it.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/aDBZ7xmRXW
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) May 22, 2024
That swap just might pan out for the Guardians.
One of their first decisions over the winter was to sign Ben Lively, a journeyman pitcher they originally drafted 14 years ago. Lively sported a career 5.05 ERA and had spent three years pitching in South Korea starting in 2019. But in seven starts with Cleveland, he has recorded a 2.84 ERA, helping to stabilize a rotation left for dead after a season-ending elbow injury to Shane Bieber and an elbow setback for Gavin Williams.
Lively’s starts with 4+ innings and 0 or 1 earned run allowed, before 2024: 6 of 32 starts
Lively’s starts with 4+ innings and 0 or 1 earned run allowed, in 2024: 4 of 7 starts
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That signing just might pay dividends for the Guardians.
This isn’t your older sibling’s Cleveland rotation. This is a patchwork effort that has 63-year-old pitching coach Carl Willis doing some of his best work. Willis’ fellow coaches dubbed him the Walking TrackMan because he can forecast the metrics the computers will spit out just by watching his pitchers’ motions.
“He’s the steady rock that we all need,” Vogt said. “He’s forgotten more than we all know or have seen. He’s that voice of calm and reason.”
Xzavion Curry flew to Omaha, Neb., with Triple-A Columbus on Monday morning. A half-hour after the Clippers arrived at their hotel, Curry returned to the airport and caught a flight to Cleveland, through Chicago. The next evening, he started against the Mets in place of Carlos Carrasco, the latest starter to land on the shelf.
Curry has had a nightmarish season with Columbus (8.79 ERA), but he’s offered critical aid in two key spot starts for the Guardians.
Everything is working.
"Outstanding job getting us that deep into the game on kind of an ambush-type start."@CleGuardians manager Stephen Vogt appreciated Xzavion Curry's efforts in a short-notice start after a late call-up from Triple-A Columbus to start for an injured Carlos Carrasco.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/kRsHhxKYbk
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) May 22, 2024
Carlos Santana had ripped a pair of hard-struck lineouts off Tanner Bibee on Sunday, and as Santana approached the plate with the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the seventh inning, Vogt readied to make a pitching change. Before Vogt could emerge from the dugout, bench coach Craig Albernaz said to him: “What if you go challenge him?”
Vogt walked to the mound and told Bibee he was going to strike out Santana. He did.
“We want this guy to be a dude for us,” Vogt said, “and that’s what guys do. They step up in those big moments.”
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That decision worked out for the Guardians.
Vogt spoke throughout the spring about wanting his relievers to be able to handle any situation presented to them. On Monday, he summoned Cade Smith to protect a two-run lead in the eighth inning. Smith didn’t even learn he would occupy an Opening Day roster spot until about eight hours before the first pitch of the season. It hasn’t taken him long to earn his manager’s trust. On Wednesday, he silenced the Mets in the ninth with a bevy of 98 mph heaters.
“I thought he was throwing 120 (mph),” Hedges said. “… That’s as good of a fastball as I’ve caught.”
Tim Herrin lowered his ERA to 0.87 on Wednesday. Hunter Gaddis dropped his to 1.85. Smith’s sits at 2.01.
A year ago, respectively, they were a mop-up reliever, a spot starter and a Triple-A closer. Now, they’re three relievers Vogt calls upon with no hesitation.
“They take the ball whenever,” Vogt said, “and against whomever.”
Even the staunchest believer in the Guardians rebounding in 2024 couldn’t have drawn it up this way. Maybe Bieber and Williams fueled some confidence. Maybe Trevor Stephan and James Karinchak would solidify the back end of the bullpen. Maybe Kyle Manzardo, George Valera, Chase DeLauter and Juan Brito would ignite the lineup.
Instead, it’s Fry. It’s Lively. It’s Gaddis and Smith and Herrin. It’s Tyler Freeman patrolling center field like it’s his natural position. It’s Johnathan Rodriguez selecting the perfect spot to deliver his first career hit (and go-ahead RBI). It’s the Guardians completing a series sweep in a game in which Gabriel Arias batted fifth, Emmanuel Clase was unavailable and Triston McKenzie admitted his stuff wasn’t up to his standards.
Congratulations to Johnathan Rodriguez on his first career MLB hit 👏👏👏
It comes in a key moment to give the @CleGuardians the lead in the bottom of the seventh! #ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/r6Cgjbt7mr
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) May 22, 2024
They won because Hedges, the good-humored-but-heavy-footed backup catcher, dropped down a bunt single to spark a rally that erased their deficit. Hedges didn’t even decide to bunt until Mets starter Jose Quintana was halfway through his windup.
The Guardians are 14-7 against teams with winning records. They’re 18-6 at Progressive Field, a ballpark that has become a home run launching pad, a factor that no longer intimidates a once singles-reliant offense. They’re 24-1 when leading after six innings and 28-0 when leading after eight, a testament to what has been the league’s most prolific bullpen.
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If they play .500 ball the rest of the way, they’ll wind up with 89 wins, which would almost assuredly secure them a couple of October first-pitch times. And that should lead to some pressure on the front office to supplement this group with outside help.
This start has to exceed their expectations, especially with a new manager at the helm. The Guardians didn’t remain quiet all winter because they assumed their roster needed no upgrades. They remained quiet all winter because there was so much to sort out with the roster, and no quick fix to eliminate their potential deficiencies.
They were searching for evidence that the team was heading in the right direction. Now they have it.
“We treat every game like a playoff game,” Hedges said. “Every game matters. Every year, you look up at the beginning of October and there (are) two, three, four teams that missed the playoffs by a game. And that game might have happened in April, May. It doesn’t matter when it happens. It’s one game. There are a lot of teams that go out there and think they’re just going to roll through the season and then turn it on for the playoffs. We’re playing baseball so that when the playoffs come, nothing has to change.”
(Photo of Hedges celebrating his bunt single Wednesday: Ken Blaze / USA Today)
Zack Meisel is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Cleveland Guardians and Major League Baseball. Zack was named the 2021 Ohio Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association and won first place for best sports coverage from the Society of Professional Journalists. He has been on the beat since 2011 and is the author of four books, including "Cleveland Rocked," the tale of the 1995 team. Follow Zack on Twitter @ZackMeisel
