Bibee returns from 12-day rest to spin one-run gem

MINNEAPOLIS -- After Tanner Bibee had his last start pushed back and endured a 12-day layoff due to right shoulder tightness, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was asked before Sunday’s game what he would consider a successful start for Bibee.

"If he can give us some length and walk off the mound healthy, it's successful,” Vogt said.

By that measure, Bibee’s start was a rousing success and then some. The young Guardians ace showed no signs of rust as he stymied the Twins for 5 2/3 innings in a 5-3 win that earned Cleveland an important series split at Target Field.

The 25-year-old pitched into the sixth inning and picked up his second win against the Twins this season. He scattered six hits and allowed just one earned run (Byron Buxton’s first of two home runs) while striking out five and walking none.

“I thought it was super good,” Bibee said of his start. “I was efficient the entire time. I feel like if I had a normal pitch count, I would get through six, maybe seven [innings], depending on what goes on.”

The Guardians are now 18-5 in games that Bibee starts this season, and his 10 wins match the total he produced last season as a rookie. After being unsure if he would even make this start, it’s a big sigh of relief for the Guardians that a healthy Bibee was back to being his dominant self.

"Unbelievable," Vogt said. “The guy has two weeks off, comes out and it’s probably some of the best he’s looked all year, to be honest. Little bit shaky with the command early, but then [he] really turned it on. He didn’t have a great slider today, threw some good ones when he needed to. But his fastball-changeup combo was really good."

With Alex Cobb and Matthew Boyd still working their way into the rotation, Bibee’s solid start couldn’t have come at a better time.

“When our starters give us five-plus [innings] of quality, it puts us in a great position with our bullpen,” Vogt said. “Those guys the last two days [Gavin Williams and Bibee] were phenomenal.”

Cleveland took the lead for good in the sixth on David Fry’s solo shot, then broke the game open later in the inning with three straight run-scoring base hits with two outs to make it a 5-1 game.

Facing Twins reliever Caleb Theilbar for the second time this series, Fry turned around a high fastball at the top of the zone and hit it out to left field to give Cleveland a lead it would not relinquish.

The American League All-Star outfielder has been battling injuries and scuffling since the break, going 4-for-31 in his previous nine games. Homerless in June and July, Fry has already hit three home runs in the month of August.

“It felt good, especially when we were tied in a big game,” Fry said. “I’ve accidentally run into some fastballs [In August] and luckily, they’ve gone over the fence. Hopefully, I’ll get a couple more of them.”

It was another multihomer game for the Guardians, as Jose Ramirez cracked his 31st blast of the season to lead off the fourth inning, his 247th in a Cleveland uniform.

Things got a little dicey in the ninth, with the Twins using two hits and a walk to load the bases with nobody out against All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase. But Clase reared back and fired his second-fastest pitch of the season at 102.2 mph to strike out Willi Castro, then induced Trevor Larnach to ground into a nifty 4-6-3 double play to end the game.

The win moves Cleveland to 69-49 and puts the team 3 1/2 games ahead of the Twins as it heads back home to host the Cubs for three games. And it wouldn’t have been possible without Bibee, whose gutsy 84-pitch gem helped his team salvage a little pride leaving Minnesota.

“That’s what an ace looks like,” Fry said. “He takes 10 days off, comes back [and] shuts it down. When you’ve got your dudes like the last two days when we’ve had Gavin and Bibee going, that’s what they do. When you’re losing a few in a row, they get you back on track.”