McKenzie's short start continues troubling trend for Guardians

CLEVELAND -- The Guardians’ starting pitching woes continue.

Triston McKenzie couldn’t get out of the third inning on Tuesday night and despite the offense’s effort to chip away at Seattle’s lead, the Guardians couldn’t catch up and fell to the Mariners, 8-5, at Progressive Field.

“We didn’t play a very good game tonight,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “But again, this team fought back.”

The Guardians were behind the eight ball from the start. McKenzie allowed a leadoff walk in each of the three innings he was on the rubber and also gave up a two-run homer. His pitch count got up to 59 after recording just one out in the third inning and as his walk total reached four, there was no other option for the Guardians but to turn to the bullpen.

“He had trouble with command,” Vogt said. “First time through the order wasn’t getting ahead, so first-pitch strikes weren’t there. They took advantage.”

For the first time this season, McKenzie’s velocity was up a tick -- back to what it looked like before his shoulder and elbow injuries derailed his 2023 season. But when he’s not commanding those pitches, an extra mile per hour doesn’t help.

“I thought my delivery wasn’t really synced up,” McKenzie said. “I thought the velo was a little up, but moving down the mound was the same. But I don’t think that was an excuse.”

There have been times this year when McKenzie has looked like he could turn a corner, but most of this season has been difficult for the right-hander. Tuesday was no different. He’s issued the most walks (42) and has given up the second most homers (15) by any pitcher in the Majors this season. And now, over his last five starts, he’s pitched to a 7.04 ERA (18 earned runs in 23 innings).

“Especially after losing the last two, I just wanted to go out there and put my best foot forward,” McKenzie said, “and [didn’t] give the guys my best effort in my opinion.”

McKenzie’s overall struggles are a big problem for the Guardians because they needed him to return to form this year, especially after Shane Bieber learned he’d be out for the season. His rocky start on Tuesday is a big problem for the Guardians because it led to using six relievers in the first night of a stretch of 26 games in 27 days. But it’s an even bigger problem because the team doesn’t seem to have an answer.

McKenzie hasn’t been as reliable as he would’ve liked to be coming into the year. The Guardians have gone 4-8 in games that Carlos Carrasco started. Logan Allen has been inconsistent. Ben Lively has been steady, but after dealing with some tightness last week, he wasn’t as sharp in Toronto over the weekend. That leaves a lot of pressure on Tanner Bibee to carry the rotation.

There’s only been one start of at least six innings this month and that was Allen on June 7. The last time the team had back-to-back starts of at least six frames was May 25-26. It’s put a ton of stress on the bullpen so far, which makes it harder for the group’s success to be sustainable if this trend continues.

Gavin Williams is nearing his return to the big league rotation, but one starter can only fix so much. Plus, the Guardians have no idea what to expect when he returns after missing all of the season with right elbow discomfort. The team knows that starting pitching will be the top thing it needs to address at the Trade Deadline if it’s looking to remain in contention this year.

But in the meantime, the Guardians need to try to find answers. And if that’s going to be within their current rotation, they’ll need McKenzie, as one of the more veteran hurlers on the roster, to find a way to right the ship.

“I think it’s growing pains,” McKenzie said. “I think like it’s something different every start. But I think everybody kind of goes through it. I think for me, not trying to take last year into account and just being able to be kind of 10 toes down and just being where we’re at right now.”