NEW YORK -- Tanner Bibee’s frustration was palpable as he stood and met with reporters after Tuesday’s series opener against the Yankees in the Bronx. The Guardians right-hander had thrown one of his best games of the year, but it came in a disappointing losing effort.
Bibee allowed just three runs on four hits and two walks over 6 1/3 innings on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, but the Guardians fell, 3-2. Perhaps most frustrating for the Guardians was the fact that, by and large, Tuesday was one of Bibee’s finest outings this season.
“Bibee was outstanding,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “That's as good as we've seen him. Cruising, keeping his pitch count low, getting weak contact, a lot of punchouts tonight. His outing was much better than his line ended up being.
“Gave up the two homers there at the end, but he was some kind of special tonight.”
Facing other playoff contenders, every moment can matter. Here’s a look at three that stand out from Tuesday.
1. Back-to-back jacks
Bibee took the loss despite setting down the first 11 hitters he faced and allowing just three earned runs or fewer for the eighth time in 12 starts this season. Two of those tallies came across in the seventh.
Third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. and shortstop Anthony Volpe hit back-to-back solo homers off Bibee to give New York a 3-1 lead. Chisholm’s homer came on a 92.7 mph four-seamer middle-in and slightly up, traveling a Statcast-projected 358 feet. According to Statcast, it would only have been a homer in two MLB ballparks -- Yankee Stadium and George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
Volpe’s homer occurred when Bibee hung him a sweeper over the middle of the plate, and he hit it a projected 372 feet to left.
“First-pitch heater. Hasn't seen one all day, and he's on it,” Bibee said of the Chisholm homer. “And I left the slider up. That's been kind of the story of my season so far.”
Bibee has surrendered 14 homers this season, which ranks third in the Majors. The long ball was hurting him early in the year, but he began to round into form in late April. Bibee has a 3.10 ERA in 49 1/3 innings over his past eight starts, and he’s gone at least six innings in six of those outings.
He was especially efficient on Tuesday; Bibee’s pitch count was at 93 through six innings, making it an easy decision for Vogt to send him back out for the seventh.
“He was cruising,” Vogt said. “This is one of his best outings of the year. Tanner had looked good up until that point. So not even a thought to not send him back out.”
2. Early offense
Chisholm was also at the center of an early Yankees rally in the fifth inning. Bibee threw him a 1-2 sweeper, and it appeared to catch the outer half of the strike zone. The offering was ruled a ball, and Chisholm hit a bloop single with a 70.9 mph exit velocity to left field on the ensuing pitch.
Bibee got Volpe to line out to right fielder Jhonkensy Noel, but he issued a two-out walk to J.C. Escarra and Chisholm came around on a single by a DJ LeMahieu. While the no-strike call to Chisholm was a tough break, it wasn’t the deciding factor in the loss. Plus, Bibee still had a chance to make a pitch, which he acknowledged.
“I had another chance to get him out and I threw a good pitch, and he stuck his bat out there and had a little dinky hit,” Bibee said. “It is what it is.”
3. Rallies come up just short
As good as Bibee was, Yankees lefty Carlos Rodón matched him by allowing one run on five hits and one walk over seven innings. The Guardians went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.
In the seventh, David Fry’s game-tying RBI single got Cleveland on the board, but the Guardians failed to bring him home as the go-ahead run. Gabriel Arias followed Fry with a one-out single two batters later, but he was cut down trying to take second base after the ball ricocheted a few feet away from center fielder Trent Grisham -- who threw Arias out easily at second base.
In the ninth, Daniel Schneemann’s pinch-hit RBI single made it 3-2, but he was stranded at second.
“He was trying to get into scoring position,” Vogt said of Arias. “Probably not the best read. But I want our guys to continue to be aggressive, putting pressure on the defense. It just didn't work out in our favor on that one.”