Costly mistakes become learning moments for young Guards

CLEVELAND -- The Guardians had their work cut out for them on Wednesday, when they were up against American League Cy Young Award contender Dylan Cease. The last thing Cleveland could afford was any self-inflicted mistakes.

To that end, the second inning proved rather disastrous.

In the Guardians’ 11-0 loss to the Blue Jays at Progressive Field, Toronto scored five unearned runs in the second following a throwing error by rookie shortstop Angel Genao. It occurred during a potential inning-ending forceout at second base, following a ground ball hit by George Springer, on a play with funky timing between Genao and second baseman Travis Bazzana.

Two runs scored on the play. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. then came up and belted a three-run home run off starter Joey Cantillo that put Cleveland in a deep early hole, in what ultimately was the Guardians’ 14th shutout loss of the season.

“We've got young players learning,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “It's unfortunate that it led to that. That's a ball we got to go [first base] there. But you know what? It happens. It looked like Travis was a little bit late getting there.

“These are plays we're going to learn from. These are plays that we're going to continue to talk about and get better from.”

The Guardians (70-69) maintained their hold on the American League’s third Wild Card spot, but their lead fell to 1 1/2 games over the Blue Jays, Rangers and Orioles -- all of whom are 69-71. Cleveland remains three games behind the first-place White Sox (73-66) in the AL Central.

Genao has impressed the Guardians since he made his MLB debut on Aug. 5. He’s held his own during a postseason push while capably playing shortstop, second and third base. On Tuesday, we saw him hit a pinch-hit two-run home run and make an impressive jump throw at second base.

Wednesday brought a moment to forget.

The Guardians trailed, 1-0, when the Blue Jays mounted a bases-loaded threat with one out in the second. Cantillo got Brett Bateman to ground into a 3-2 fielder’s choice for the second out, to bring Springer to the plate.

Springer hit a grounder directly to Genao. The 36-year-old was only a few steps out of the batter’s box when Genao gobbled up the ball. He had time to make a throw to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe for the final out of the inning. Instead, Genao fed Bazzana in an attempt to cut down Bateman at second base.

Genao’s throw sailed over a leaping Bazzana, allowing two runs to score.

“My first thought was trying to go to second base, and obviously I got out of sync,” Genao said through team interpreter Agustin Rivero. “Instead of trying to throw it firm, I tried to slow it down and try to throw over to him. I take responsibility though. I should have made that play, so that's on me.”

Bazzana was initially positioned behind second base and a few feet to its left. With Springer’s grounder hit directly to Genao, he should have beelined to cover second. That’s his job in that spot. Instead, Bazzana’s first few steps were to his right. He had to cut forward to reach the base.

By the time Genao looked up and began to initiate his throw, Bazzana was still multiple feet from the base. Genao had to adjust to where Bazzana was versus where he expected him to be. Vogt acknowledged the timing of it all played into the errant toss.

Ultimately, Genao should have gone to first base. Springer entered the day ranked in the 41st percentile in sprint speed (27.1 feet per second), per Statcast. His grounder had a 105.1 mph exit velocity. That’s a sure out. But it was a clunky sequence.

“Angel’s been phenomenal,” Vogt said. “There's been no issues with him since he's been here, and these plays are going to happen. It was just unfortunate timing.”

The Guardians have five rookies on their active roster. They depend on young players to succeed. When that’s your reality, you sign up for mistakes like these, and they aren’t going to happen at convenient times. You only can hope the learning opportunities are kept to a minimum during a playoff push.

Genao’s error was costly, and Cantillo paid the price for having to get an extra out. Two pitches later, he hung a 1-0 curveball to Guerrero, whose three-run homer went a projected 426 feet. The Guardians were immediately in a 6-0 hole, though they didn’t do much against Cease and finished with just four hits overall.

“This was a learning opportunity, and we're going to be better next time,” Vogt said.