Bazzana's 4-hit game gets Guards back-to-back W's for 1st time in a month

DENVER -- It’s been an up-and-down rookie campaign for former No. 1 overall Draft pick Travis Bazzana. He enjoyed a hot start to his Major League career after being called up to make his big league debut at the end of April and was named an All-Star. But the 23-year-old second baseman began slumping at the plate in June, and he hasn’t been able to build offensive momentum since.

In Friday night’s 9-1 victory in the Guardians’ series opener against the Rockies at Coors Field, Bazzana produced his second career four-hit game (also June 20 at Houston), singling four times and driving in three runs to help Cleveland win for the third time in four games. It was also the first time the Guardians have won back-to-back games since July 20 and 21.

Bazzana delivered a two-run single in the fourth, singled and stole his 18th base of the season before scoring in the sixth, singled and scored again in the seventh and then lined an RBI single to right-center in the ninth.

It was “one night,” as Bazzana said afterward. But it was one he’ll look to build upon as Cleveland tries to make a late postseason push. And as his rookie season continues, so does his growth -- even on rough terrain.

“It’s a lot of learning experiences,” Bazzana said. “Sometimes I felt like I was trying too hard when it started to trend downwards. I’m sticking with it, and hopefully I can keep moving forward with a night like this and do that more often.”

Prior to Friday’s game, Bazzana took early batting practice, and he was focused on “trying to stay through the middle a little more and drive some pitches on the outer half.”

The night’s results were reflective of that intent. Of Bazzana’s four singles, one was to left, two were to center and one was to right.

“We’ve talked about how he’s been going through it,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “He’s learning what it’s like for a full season. He came out early today and put in some really good work with [hitting coach] Grant Fink and the hitting guys.

“It’s nice to then go and do that. And, again, it’s up the middle, not trying to do too much, staying on pitches.”

The Guards got on the board with a solo home run from Petey Halpin in the third inning, then took a 3-1 lead on Bazzana’s fourth-inning single to left. Cleveland added another run in the fifth on a Jo Adell RBI single and another in the sixth when Bazzana scored on a Steven Kwan groundout to second. In the seventh, Patrick Bailey belted a three-run homer to break the game open.

The Guardians produced 14 hits, marking their 10th game this month with at least 10 hits, which is tied with the Phillies and Rays for most in the Majors.

There have also been three games in which they were shut out in August, but the prevalence of better offensive output is a welcome development for a club that is tied for last in the Majors with a .684 team OPS.

A glaring weakness has been hitting with runners in scoring position -- Cleveland entered the day batting .227 in that situation, 28th in the Majors. On Friday, the Guards were 4-for-16.

“The runners in scoring position has been a tough thing for us this year,” Vogt said. “But you get nights like tonight where it just breaks free, and we have to just keep getting traffic. If we keep getting traffic, that puts pressure on the other team, and we’re going to come through.”

Left-hander Joey Cantillo started for the Guardians and gave up one run on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings. Cleveland’s bullpen turned in a strong performance, with Tim Herrin, Colin Holderman, Craig Yoho and Matt Festa combining for 4 1/3 scoreless frames.

As September nears, Cleveland needs to look no further than last season for inspiration. At this time last year, the Guardians were 10 1/2 games behind the division-leading Tigers, only to eventually eclipse Detroit and win the American League Central.

As it stands now, the Guards are 4 1/2 games behind the first-place White Sox and one game out of the third AL Wild Card position.

“Last year was a lot bleaker,” said Kwan, who singled and walked twice on Friday. “... I feel like if you come out of what we did last year, we can do anything now this year.”