Holderman's rare rough night costly in Guardians' AL Central chase

CHICAGO -- Colin Holderman has been a crucial piece to the Guardians’ bullpen this season as a trusted presence to bridge games to closer Cade Smith. No reliever can be perfect every night, but Holderman’s consistency made what unfolded Saturday somewhat of a surprise.

Entering in relief of starter Gavin Williams with two outs in the sixth inning, Holderman hit a pair of batters and allowed a two-run double and a two-run single without recording an out. Suddenly, a two-run lead gave way to a three-run deficit in the Guardians’ 6-3 loss to the White Sox at Rate Field.

“Very uncharacteristic of Holdy,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He's been so good in that role this year. It just ended up being a tough night for him.”

It was a gut-punch turn of events for the Guardians, who broke a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth on a Rhys Hoskins two-run homer. The loss represented a two-game swing in the standings for Cleveland (58-60).

Rather than climbing to one game behind the American League Central-leading White Sox (60-56), the Guardians fell to three games out of first place.

Williams’ streak of five consecutive starts with 10-plus strikeouts ended Saturday, though he was effective. He kept the White Sox off the board for 5 1/3 innings. He at one point retired nine consecutive hitters after allowing a single to Andrew Benintendi and walked Braden Montgomery with one out in the second.

“Gavin was phenomenal again,” Vogt said. “He did everything we could have asked for.”

Williams began to show some cracks in the sixth. Munetaka Murakami got a 99.8 mph sinker over the heart of the plate and hit it off the left-field foul pole for a solo home run. Williams then allowed a base hit to Miguel Vargas in an eight-pitch at-bat, which gave way to a seven-pitch battle with Colson Montgomery.

After Williams struck out Montgomery, his pitch count sat at 102 -- just shy of his season high of 103 (on June 28, against the Mariners, and July 9, against the Twins). He had thrown 27 pitches in the inning, and Vogt opted to go to the bullpen.

“We've asked so much of these starters and to push them beyond,” Vogt said. “We don't like anybody to start a hitter with over 100 pitches. He had done his job."

Before the Guardians acquired Foster Griffin from the Nationals on Monday, their Opening Day rotation of Williams, Tanner Bibee, Joey Cantillo, Slade Cecconi and Parker Messick had started all but one of the first 113 games this season. Keeping that group healthy has been crucial this season. Cleveland doesn't have a lot of rotation depth in the upper Minors ready to step in if someone goes down.

It’s why the Guardians are cognizant of pitch counts, as Vogt alluded to. There have been six instances all season in which a Cleveland starter has thrown more than 102 pitches. One was Parker Messick (112 pitches) on April 16 against the Orioles, during a no-hit bid.

Going to Holderman in that spot was a no-brainer. He entered Saturday with a 1.61 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP in 44 2/3 innings over 44 appearances. He just did not finish the inning.

Holderman entered to face the left-handed-hitting Benintendi. He hit him on the left foot with a 1-2 curveball. Holderman then hit Montgomery in the left knee with a 2-2 sweeper.

“I got two guys to two strikes and made pitches you want to throw back there,” Holderman said. “That's the risk that you take throwing back-foot breaking balls, is sometimes they hit the back foot. … I had a good opportunity to get those guys and didn't.”

Holderman had a chance to get out of the inning unscathed. Tristan Peters gave Chicago the lead with a bases-loaded two-run double. Chase Meidroth followed with a bloop two-run single to right field that had a 65 mph exit velocity.

Holderman is allowed to have an off night. It was magnified because, as we have seen so often this season, the Guardians gave their pitchers little margin for error offensively. Cleveland had 11 hits, but it went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Home runs by Hoskins and Angel Genao (Cleveland's No. 2 prospect, No. 39 overall) accounted for the only runs.

It was Genao’s first career home run.

Sunday’s rubber game will loom large. The White Sox hold a one-game advantage in the head-to-head season series (5-4), which would be the first tiebreaker between these teams, if needed, later this season.

“Any time we lose it’s disappointing,” Vogt said. “But we have an opportunity to win a series tomorrow, and that's the goal.”