CLEVELAND -- Tanner Bibee walked off the mound at Progressive Field on Friday to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 36,639. Mere moments later, boos from the Cleveland faithful echoed around the ballpark.
They had seen this scene play out before.
“Just an outstanding performance by Tanner,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “We just unfortunately were not able to get enough runs to support him.”
The Guardians languished through their latest punchless night offensively in a 4-1 loss to the D-backs in the opener of a three-game series. Bibee departed with one out in the eighth inning, after Arizona put a pair of runners on while Cleveland was clinging to a one-run lead.
Before you could catch your breath, four consecutive baserunners reached off relievers Erik Sabrowski (who walked Corbin Carroll and yielded RBI singles to Geraldo Perdomo and Gabriel Moreno) and Matt Festa (who allowed another RBI single). The D-backs took a three-run lead.
“We walked two guys in that inning to set them up, and that's what came back to hurt us,” Vogt said.
No one, of course, walked away from the ballpark on Friday pointing to the bullpen as the biggest culprit. Friday merely underscored the biggest issue facing the Guardians leading up to Monday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline. This lineup is in need of reinforcements.
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The Guardians dropped to 56-55 and a full three games behind the AL Central-leading White Sox (58-51). Cleveland has gone 5-9 since the All-Star break while scoring one or zero runs seven times. If Friday felt like Groundhog Day, it’s because we watched something similar play out three days ago in Cincinnati.
Starter Gavin Williams took a loss in Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Reds after he allowed two runs on three hits and one walk with 12 strikeouts over seven innings. Bibee didn’t rack up strikeouts like Williams, but he didn’t have to on Friday to be dominant.
Bibee was charged with two runs on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings. His outing came to a close after he walked Tim Tawa and allowed a single to Ryan Waldschmidt in the eighth.
“Obviously, strikeouts are nice, and everyone wants to strike out everybody,” Bibee said. “But at the same time, if they're gonna hit weak ground balls and weak fly balls, I don't think anyone in this room would say no to that either.”
Bibee has been stellar for an extended stretch now. Since the calendar flipped to June, he’s recorded a 2.98 ERA in 63 1/3 innings over 10 starts, with 40 strikeouts and 16 walks. He also has now received one or fewer runs of support in 12 of his 23 starts this season. It’s a big part of why he is the first Cleveland pitcher since Zach Plesac in 2022 with 11 losses on his ledger through 23 outings in a season.
The Guardians’ offensive issues are not new. They ranked 28th in MLB in runs per game (3.97) last season and went on to have a quiet offseason. Their two main moves were agreeing to Minor League deals with outfielder Stuart Fairchild and Rhys Hoskins, whose first-inning RBI single on Friday drove in the Guardians’ lone run.
In lieu of external additions, the Guardians opted to give their host of young and up-and-coming hitters opportunity in the Majors. They are last in MLB in runs per game (3.90). For as much as guys such as Brayan Rocchio and rookies Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter have been bright spots, the collective group has not fared well enough.
Any potential additions the Guardians make before the Deadline will not be a cure-all for the offense. But that should not sway them from sitting idle. Even with the group’s struggles, there is young talent here. Adding to the mix, to help now and in ensuing seasons, is a pragmatic approach.
The Guardians also forecasted changing lanes in-season months ago.
In January, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti acknowledged the offense had to improve in 2026, as well as the organization's belief that it could come from players already on the roster.
“If that proves not to be correct,” Antonetti said then, “we've always had the flexibility to address needs during the season. If that's the way the season shakes out, then I'm confident we'll have the resources to improve the team at that point.”
The countdown is on.