The dam finally broke on the Cleveland Guardians as their rollercoaster season came to an end in Tampa Bay.
They were considered down and out all season, but Stephen Vogt pushed all the right buttons in late September and in the ALDS to put the Guardians on the brink of the World Series. However, the odds were too great to overcome in Game 6 of the ALCS, and Vogt ran out of buttons to press.
The decision to start Shawn Armstrong paid off in the first inning as he set down the lineup in order with only a handful of pitches. He came back out for the second inning and gave up a hit to the first batter. Vogt was quick with the hook and brought in Tim Herrin, who promptly allowed the runner to score.
At that moment, the Guardians needed a pitcher to be able to throw multiple innings and save the bullpen from overexposure.
Herrin was not sharp throughout the playoffs and did not look to be up to the moment. Joey Cantillo succeeded in that role in September, and Foster Griffin has been effective in the playoffs. Vogt played the short game to shut down the Rays and chose the wrong reliever.
The Guardians were down 3-1 in the seventh inning, and Vogt turned to closer Cade Smith to hold the score. That did not work as he promptly gave up two runs, making the game out of reach. Smith was used the prior day in a loss, but Vogt did not want to get through the elimination game without deploying his best pitcher. However, using Smith in the seventh was not the right call, as the overexposure proved costly when Junior Caminero took his pitch over the fence.
Vogt chose not to use the opening-day starter, Tanner Bibee, for the entire series. Bibee got limited action in the ALDS, and it did not go well, but he remained on the roster for the ALCS. Vogt used the bullpen early, and the Rays’ hitters were not fooled as the series progressed.
If Bibee could not pitch in any inning, at the risk of overusing the best pitchers, then he should not have taken up a roster spot.
Not only were the Rays more rested this series, but they also used fewer players. Their starting pitchers got deep into games, while the Guardians' pitchers were pulled early. The offense struggled to string together baserunners. Jose Ramirez started the series with his hair on fire, but cooled off and the offense struggled to score.
Travis Bazzana and Brayan Rocchio also had a bad series, but Vogt chose to stick with them in the starting lineup. They combined to go 1-7, and Austin Hedges ended up pinch-hitting for Rocchio. Petey Halpin had a game-winning home run in Game 3, and Vogt kept him in the lineup for the elimination game. He went 0-for-2 and was ultimately pinch-hit for David Fry.
The offense could not put together big innings and hitting for power was necessary for a win. Angel Martinez hit the most home runs for the team, but only got one at-bat. Vogt emptied the bench as the game progressed, but it was not enough as the Guardians trailed 3-0 after five innings.
The magic ran out, and the talent disparity proved to be too much for them to overcome. The decisions from Vogt proved to be the wrong ones, but given the Guardians’ situation, there were not many solid options.
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