CLEVELAND -- Tanner Bibee has had just six starts to showcase to the Guardians why he’s received so much hype throughout their Minor League system. He hasn’t disappointed.

Bibee turned in his third consecutive quality start in Saturday’s 2-1 extra-innings loss to the Cardinals at Progressive Field. He recorded a career-high nine strikeouts, while allowing just one run (a solo homer) on two hits and one walk in six innings.

“I thought he was really good,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said with a smile.

The Guardians have had a frustrating month. They’ve scored four or fewer runs in 22 of their last 24 contests, and their 173 runs through the first 50 games of the season were the team’s fewest since 1972 (141). But through this, Bibee has been a consistent bright spot -- a reason for fans to continue to be excited about this club’s future.

The story was the same on Saturday. Cleveland’s pitching staff as a whole only allowed two hits on the night, and yet the club came up empty-handed. It marked the third time in franchise history that the Guardians dropped a contest that went into extra innings, while permitting two or fewer hits (also May 9, 1901 and Oct. 2, 1977). The lack of offense prompted boos from the 32,000-plus fans in the ballpark. But still, Bibee was there to provide a beam of hope.

As good as the 24-year-old righty has been in his limited time in the Majors, this may have been his best performance. He induced 19 swings and misses, tying the most by a Cleveland pitcher this season. Nine of those came on his changeup.

“I thought we saw tonight his best changeup at least since he’s been here,” Francona said. “He has the ability to kind of go back and reach for more with his fastball, which is good. And threw the two breaking balls. He was really good.”

“I think it’s obviously pretty good for me when the changeup is working,” Bibee said. “I can throw the heater up, I can throw the slider off of it, I can even throw a curveball and then a changeup, so I think when that pitch is working, it’s going to be a pretty solid day.”

Bibee’s fastball topped out at 97.5 mph. His slider prompted batters to whiff nearly half the time they swung at it. His changeup was nearly untouchable, considering 12 of the 17 he threw were either whiffed at or called for a strike. And he mixed in three curveballs that resulted in a foul ball, a called strike and an out.

“He was a tough at-bat against righties,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “And the changeup was a tough at-bat against lefties. We found a way to steal that one.”

This is the time for Bibee to showcase exactly what he can bring to the table. The Guardians know they still are learning about him each time he toes the rubber. But with rotation decisions looming in the coming weeks, Bibee is making it hard to ignore how impactful he can be at the big league level.

Triston McKenzie and Aaron Civale are ready to make their third rehab appearances this week. They both are scheduled to stretch out to 85 pitches. That’s the point when the Guardians will start to consider whether they’re ready to rejoin the Major League team. If they are, the team will need two vacancies in the rotation. Hunter Gaddis will likely be the first person optioned back to Triple-A Columbus. The other will likely come down to Logan Allen or Bibee -- a decision that, at this point, will not be easy.

In the meantime, Bibee will continue to learn from each outing. Even though he’s only made six starts, he’s already taken plenty of notes.

“I think the one thing I’ve learned is that I don’t necessarily need to be the same pitcher every time,” Bibee said. “I don’t need to lean on one pitch, I don’t need to punch out 12 every time I go out there. … I think it just depends on the day, it depends on the other team, and I think that’s probably the biggest thing I’ve [learned].”