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The first place Guardians took the field Friday night in Toronto for game 1 of their 3 game series vs the Toronto Blue Jays.
Things quickly got going, with the Guardians scoring 5 runs immediately right out of the gate to start the game.
Daniel Schneemann set the tone for the Guardians, leading the game with a solo homer off Blue Jays’ starter Max Scherzer, during an 8 pitch battle.
Video Credit: Just Baseball on X/ MLB
It was Daniel’s 3rd homer of the season, and he continues to swing the bat well so far this season, now hitting .323.
We’re over 27 games in so far, and you can tell, this isn’t a fluke. Daniel Schneemann is here to stay and is definitely going to be a focal point of this Guardians team for years to come, due to his ability to do it all. His ability to play 2nd, Short, 3rd, and any outfield position really gives Steven Vogt the ability to find a place for him in the lineup every single game, as well as the at-bats he has been producing all season long.
George Valera continued to be clutch when men were on base, ripping a 2-run double to right field, barely staying in the ballpark, to make it a 3-0 game.
The Guardians need Valera to keep producing runs like he has been, continuing to be a threat, because they need him to help protect Jose Ramirez during Manzardo’s and Hoskins’s struggles.
After taking a 3-0 lead, Cleveland wasn’t done teeing off against Scherzer, with Martinez hitting his 4th homer of the season. A 2-run shot to make it 5-0.
A few innings later, up 5-3, we got some deja vu, with Martinez hitting yet another 2-run homer off Scherzer, making the score 7-3 at the time.
Video Credit: Cleveland Guardians on X / MLB
It was just an incredible at-bat for Martinez, probably one of, if not the best at-bat of his young career. An 11 pitch at-bat, going down 0-2 early, then battling back to make the count full, then hitting the 2-run homer, his second of the game, to extend Cleveland’s lead, all off a future MLB Hall of Famer, the caliber of Max Scherzer. It was just a special at-bat by the kid.
Angel is going to be a special player for this team, and is in the same boat as Schneemann, realizing that this isn’t a fluke. He is the real deal.
Angel is now batting .284, with 5 homers, and 14 RBIs.
Gavin Williams got the win on the mound for the Guardians, having his worst performance of the season, going 6.0 innings, with 6 earned runs given up, including 2 homers.
Williams was sharp with his command and his velocity was around where it should be. The Blue Jays are a great offensive team, and they put together a good game plan against Williams, putting up some solid ABs and good swings. You just sometimes have to tip your cap.
Cade Smith gave Guardians’ fans a little scare in the bottom of the ninth, with Cleveland up 8-6. Smith gave up back to back hard hit singles to start the inning, before settling down, getting a double play, and a fly out to end the game.
It is Smith’s 6th save of the season. He has been better as of late, but still has work to be done to get back to 2024 form.
The Guardians will go for the series win on Saturday Afternoon, with a win. Cleveland needs to just take care of business, and try to avoid playing in yet another Rubber-match. It seems almost every 3 game series they have played in has contained a Rubber-Match game.
Let’s just hope that Manager Steven Vogt takes the game seriously, and no “punting” is involved. For example, say if the Guardians are down 4-3, in the 7th inning, and Vogt decides to put in Matt Festa, who gives up runs in over 30% of his appearances. We’ve seen this happen so many times the last two seasons and more specifically saw this happen in ST. Louis, where Festa immediately gave up a run late in the game, right after the Guards made it a 1 run game.
First pitch is at 3:07 PM ET, with LHP Joey Cantillo on the mound, looking to bounce back after his last start where one bad mistake against the Orioles changed the whole outlook on his performance.
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