Guardians dealt rare bullpen slip-up in walk-off loss to Twins

MINNEAPOLIS -- Willi Castro hit a ground ball up the middle, right at shortstop Amed Rosario, who was shifted as close to second base as the rules allow. The Guardians were sitting comfortably with a three-run lead over their top division rival and the first out of the eighth inning was moments from being recorded. That was until Trevor Stephan's glove interfered.

The ball was passing by Stephan on his backside. Instinctively, he swatted his glove around his back and deflected the ground ball that appeared to be a routine out. Rosario had to pivot, the speed of the ball slowed down and suddenly, the leadoff man was aboard -- an omen of what was to come.

“To start the inning like that is really harmful,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said.

What ensued was the bigger problem. Donovan Solano doubled in Castro. After a lineout, Royce Lewis hit a two-run homer and the Twins tied the game before eventually winning, 7-6, in walk-off fashion on a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning on Thursday night, sending the Guardians back to a frustrated clubhouse. It marked their sixth walk-off loss this season -- the most in the Majors.

Cleveland had finally started to show signs of stringing hits together. After a 12-run outburst in Baltimore on Wednesday, it bounced back for another six runs on nine hits at Target Field. The Guardians have scored 28 runs in their last four games. Before that, they had plated just 11 runs over their previous five games.

“It’s super encouraging,” said Guardians starter Tanner Bibee, who gave up three runs in five innings. “Just to see the bats heating up, it kind of alleviates the load off the pitcher’s shoulders a little bit.”

But the most ironic part of Cleveland’s season thus far has been when the bats are hot, the pitching struggles. When the bats are struggling, the pitching seems to be lights-out. And the Guardians fell victim to that pattern yet again in the series opener of the four-game set in Minnesota.

The bullpen was far from rested coming into Thursday’s matchup. Back-to-back short outings from Cal Quantrill and Shane Bieber on Tuesday and Wednesday prompted both Sam Hentges and Emmanuel Clase to be used in each game, making them unavailable on Thursday.

Stephan had pitched a scoreless inning on Wednesday. Nick Sandlin and Eli Morgan (the other two arms used on Thursday) had at least one day of rest coming into this series.

“We’ve leaned on them heavily,” Guardians backstop Mike Zunino said. “Those guys have picked up some huge innings for us. [This game from the bullpen is a] blip on the radar. But we’ll get back at it.”

Stephan established himself as one of Cleveland’s most reliable high-leverage hurlers last season, along with James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase. In 2023, the trio of relievers had a difficult time finding consistency on the mound. This marks Stephan’s fourth blown save, but he also has had eight holds and two saves in Cleveland victories.

“I just think [Stephan] made a couple mistakes,” Zunino said. “It’s one of those where he’s been lights-out for us. A couple of balls just leaked back a little bit and they put some good swings on it.”

The biggest hurdle the Guardians will need to overcome is another difficult night on the bullpen. Hentges and Clase had a night to rest, but the team would’ve gladly welcomed a relaxed opener to help the relief corps be at full strength heading into the weekend. Aaron Civale is primed to make his first start back from the injured list on Friday night.

Triston McKenzie will make his 2023 debut on Sunday after being sidelined all year. Having the comfort of being able to cover more innings than usual if either of them would struggle to get deep in their outings would be helpful.

There’s no way for the Guardians to know how Civale and McKenzie will fare as they return. It certainly doesn’t make it easier knowing they need to cover some innings. But as Bibee said, if the offense can stay as hot as it has been, the pressure on the pitching staff can lessen just a bit.

“Once they start hitting, and they are starting to hit,” Bibee said. “Everything is going to click.”