Bibee has 2nd encouraging start after dealing with shoulder tightness

MILWAUKEE -- The shoulder issue that had been bothering Guardians ace Tanner Bibee appears to be behind him.

Bibee missed almost two weeks with shoulder tightness, although he didn't go on the injured list. He made his second start since his return in Saturday night's 2-1 loss to the Brewers at American Family Field.

“The shoulder felt pretty good,” Bibee said. “We’ll keep building and get to that next step.”

Bibee gave up an unearned run in the first and surrendered a solo homer to William Contreras in the fourth in an otherwise sharp outing. He surrendered three hits and one walk while striking out seven. He threw 83 pitches (56 strikes) but was charged with his fifth loss of the season to go with 10 wins.

“They kind of made me work the first couple innings, but I feel like I settled in pretty well,” he said.

Bibee said he respected the decision by manager Stephen Vogt to take him out of the game after five innings.

“He said I didn’t have that many more pitches left and if I went out there, I would have faced maybe one or two batters,” Bibee said. “He said it was just best at that point in the game and where we were. I trust him. I obviously didn’t like it but I trust him with every decision he makes with me.”

Bibee has become the staff’s No. 1 starter with Shane Bieber, the 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner, lost for the season after having Tommy John surgery in April. Bibee has been solid this season. At Minnesota on Aug. 11, Bibee earned the win, allowing one run on six hits with five strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings, his fourth straight start with two or fewer runs allowed.

The Guardians fell to 18-6 in games started by Bibee. The 18 wins, however, continue to lead the Major Leagues.

“They got his pitch count up and made him work,” Vogt said. “A lot of foul balls. The two mistakes he made tonight were the double and the homer. I thought he was really good, but they got his pitch count up early.”

Vogt said he made the decision to turn the game over the bullpen after the fifth inning.

“We’re still trying to be mindful of Tanner’s shoulder,” he said. “With the first inning going long, he maybe had 10 pitches left.”

A throwing error on a pickoff attempt put a runner in scoring position early, which hindered Bibee in the first inning, Vogt said.

“You never want to give them an extra 90 feet,” he said. “When two teams like this are going at it, you’ve got to limit mistakes, and they took advantage.”

Bibee said he wanted to keep Brice Turang, who has 37 steals this season, close to the bag.

“I just made a bad throw,” he said.

As for the Contreras home run, Bibee thought he had executed a good pitch.

“Changeup down, usually there’s some good things that’ll happen, but he got it,” Bibee said. “It was a good piece of hitting. He put a good swing on a good pitch.”

Bibee’s outing impressed Brewers skipper Pat Murphy.

“That kid can pitch. He'll tell you he didn't have his best stuff, but he can pitch,” Murphy said.

The Guardians struggled to generate much offense against Brewers pitching. Josh Naylor connected for a solo homer, his 27th of the season, off Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta with two outs in the fourth. Cleveland managed only four hits and two walks in six innings against Peralta (8-7) and were held hitless by three Brewers relievers, including closer Devin Williams, who earned his fourth save of the season.

José Ramírez moved closer to the coveted 30-30 club when he drew a walk in the sixth and then stole second and third, giving him 29 stolen bases on the season. Ramírez hit his 32nd homer of the season on Friday night.

“He’s electric. He’s such a smart baserunner taking third there,” Vogt said. “He’s always thinking ahead.”

For the second consecutive night, a game featuring two of the best teams in the Major Leagues had a playoff feel to it.

“It shows me something close to a postseason game,” Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez said. “I feel like they are a pretty good team. They play pretty good defense. They have some great pitching and they are playing great.”

Bibee said the Guardians and Brewers have many similarities.

“They play super hard. They run the bases really hard. They put up some good at-bats. They make you work,” Bibee said. “They’re not short on juice either. If you make a mistake over the plate, they’ll put it out. There’s a lot of respect right now between us.”