CLEVELAND -- The final pitch that Tanner Bibee delivered on Friday was hit over the center-field wall at Progressive Field by Spencer Torkelson. And yet, the right-hander received a deserved standing ovation from the Cleveland faithful as he walked off the mound, as manager Stephen Vogt went to his bullpen following the Torkelson long ball.
Bibee was stellar and led the Guardians to a 3-2 win over the Tigers on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series between the AL Central rivals. Over seven-plus innings, he allowed just two runs on two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.
Both hits were solo home runs. James Outman led off the top of the third inning by hitting a blast to right field.
Bibee and the Guardians have continually (and understandably) downplayed the significance of wins this season, given how much of that metric is out of a hurler’s control. The right-hander has been the poster child for that argument this year, as he went winless through May amid some poor luck and poor run support.
Bibee became the first pitcher in Cleveland franchise history to go winless through his first 13 starts in a season. He snapped that streak on Saturday in Texas, and has now opened June 2-0.
The Guardians went 1-6 over their previous seven games while struggling offensively, including with runners in scoring position. Bibee got just enough run support on Friday.
Rhys Hoskins led off the bottom of the second with a double and scored on a two-out RBI single by Patrick Bailey -- who scored on a Brayan Rocchio triple. Angel Martínez hit a one-out double in the sixth. He scored on an RBI single by Steven Kwan, who went 2-for-4.