Bibee surrenders 5 homers in shortened start

CLEVELAND -- Given how Tanner Bibee struggled Monday against the Nationals, manager Stephen Vogt’s postgame media session understandably centered upon the right-hander. Sometimes, the skipper relayed, you just have a bad day at the office.

“I think we could very easily do a deep dive into this and overthink it, but he's five days removed from [throwing] eight stellar innings,” Vogt said of Bibee. “It was just a tough day.”

Bibee had a rough performance in the Guardians’ 10-2 loss to the Nationals at Progressive Field in the opener of a three-game series. Over three innings, he was charged with seven runs on eight hits -- five of which were home runs.

Bibee became the first Cleveland player to allow five home runs in the first three innings of a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He tied a franchise record by allowing five home runs and became only the fourth Cleveland pitcher to allow five home runs in a start.

Hunter Gaddis (Sept. 15, 2022, vs. the White Sox), Luis Tiant (April 18, 1969, against the Red Sox) and Gary Bell (April 29, 1962, vs. the Twins) were responsible for the other three instances.

With Matt Festa permitting a solo homer in the fifth inning, the Guardians surrendered six long balls in a game for the first time since Sept. 4, 2023, against the Twins.

“I feel like it's a pretty well-documented thing that they've been a really good offense, and they showed it,” said Bibee, who fell to 0-7 this season.

The Nationals entered Monday ranked first in MLB in runs per game (5.33) and seventh in home runs (65). Bibee, meanwhile, was coming off his best start of the season, which was part of a longer run of success.

Including that outing, he had a 2.59 ERA in 41 2/3 innings over his past seven starts, and overall allowed just seven home runs through his first 11 starts. But the Nationals got to him immediately.

James Wood hit a leadoff home run on Bibee’s sixth pitch. Luis García Jr. hit a double on the next pitch, and Curtis Mead followed with a two-run shot seven pitches later. Jacob Young led off the second inning with a solo blast. Wood kept the inning alive with a two-out single, and García followed with a two-run homer that gave the Nationals a 6-0 lead.

Rhys Hoskins got the Guardians on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the second. CJ Abrams responded with a solo shot to open the third.

“It was a tough one. Just a lot of mistakes over the middle,” said Vogt, who noted the Guardians don’t think Bibee was tipping pitches. “He didn't have much. The fastball had some life at times, and other times it didn't.

“I thought it was a lack of execution. We just haven't seen that from Tanner. That was it.”

Wood’s leadoff homer in the first came on a curveball Bibee hung over the middle of the plate, while Mead went down and got a cutter down and away. In the third, Young’s homer came off a cutter that hung up and out over the plate. García took Bibee deep on a changeup in the heart of the zone.

Abrams took Bibee deep by turning on a cutter painted on black inside. He hit it 109.8 mph -- the hardest-hit ball by either team in the game. It went a Statcast-projected 403 feet.

“It was a tough night, but it happens,” Vogt said. “Guys come out and they don't have their best stuff, and that’s a really good team over there. They hit the ball really well, and they didn't let us get away with any mistakes tonight.”

If there was any saving grace for the Guardians, Festa and Logan Allen combined to cover the final six innings in relief. Cleveland is playing 13 consecutive games without a day off, through Wednesday. These types of stretches are taxing on a bullpen.

Festa gave up a solo shot to Mead in the fifth. Washington loaded the bases against Allen in the fifth and scored once, but the lefty allowed just that tally on five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts over four innings.

Allen likely will be unavailable for several days after he threw 61 pitches Monday. His locker was being cleaned out postgame, indicating the Guardians will make a roster move on Tuesday.

“I thought Logan threw the ball excellent,” Vogt said. “He picked us up in a big way tonight, too.”