Guards' shopping list clear after they get one hit

CLEVELAND -- It’s important to remember that one game is rarely representative of the bigger picture, whether it be for good reasons or bad. However, Saturday night might have brought one of those exceptions.

The Guardians’ 7-0, one-hit loss to the Padres at Progressive Field is not an accurate depiction of how this team has played all season. The Guardians are 21 games above .500. This improved offense has played a huge role in that. But it’s important to still realize that a team can never have enough bats. And it certainly can’t have too many starting pitchers. That’s where the Trade Deadline could come into play.

The same, overarching starting pitching problem plagued the Guardians. Gavin Williams’ pitch count soared into the 80s by the fourth inning. His stuff, efficiency and command was lacking, as he permitted three runs on six hits with two walks in 3 2/3 innings.

“He struggled tonight,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He battled, but the fastball command wasn’t there. So trying to figure out how to land offspeed, just getting himself into some tough counts and giving them some free bases and they took advantage. … We saw some positive things from Gavin tonight but not his best performance.”

Short starts create a hefty workload for the bullpen. The bullpen, so far, has handled it exceptionally. But at what point is there concern that the extra innings will cause fatigue, and how could that fatigue affect the tremendous success this team has had this year?

The Guardians need to be able to rely on Tanner Bibee, Williams and Ben Lively for innings. That trio was lined up to take the first three games after the All-Star break. The next two spots would, in theory, be the two that bring most concern about pitching deep into games.

Although Carlos Carrasco has been better of late, he has been inconsistent this season. It’s difficult to know what to expect from him every five days. And the fifth spot in the rotation is a question mark after Spencer Howard pitched in relief on Saturday, giving up four runs in two innings.

This shines a bright light on Cleveland’s lack of starting pitching depth and continues to push this need up higher and higher on the Guardians’ to-do list when it comes to the July 30 Trade Deadline.

Until then, all of this puts more pressure on Bibee to be the ace, Williams to be what he was last year (even though he’s still in his first few starts of the season) and Lively to outperform what he did in the first half. Williams knows he needs to keep working on his breaking pitches, especially his slider, to make sure he gets rolling.

“I’d say it’s more disappointing than anything,” Williams said of the difficulty he’s having with his slider. “Just got a [few] little things to figure out here and there.”

The pitching woes become even more obvious when the offense is silent. Dylan Cease was masterful, limiting Cleveland to one hit with 10 strikeouts and just one walk in seven innings. As much as Cease was dealing, the Guardians’ offense has hit a bit of a slump in the past few weeks. Cleveland has been shut out in four of its last nine contests and three of its last nine.

If it wasn’t for Tyler Freeman’s triple in the third inning, this team could’ve been on the wrong end of a no-hitter.

The Guardians aren’t hitting the panic button. They know baseball has its ebbs and flows, but this stretch over the last few weeks can serve as a reminder that bringing in a bat at the Deadline that could add an extra jolt of energy could also have its perks.

That part is out of the players’ control. For now, the focus is simply on getting back to the team they were in the heart of the first half of the season.

“We’re just going through it right now,” Freeman said. “We’re not stressing one bit. We know it’s going to turn around here soon. … We’re in a little rut on the offensive side. If we stay our approach and our mentality at the plate, there’s no doubt it. We’re going to turn it around.”