Ah, that’s what winning feels like.
It had been a minute since the Guardians added a tally to the “W” column, but they finally took care of business against the Detroit Tigers on Friday in a 6-1 drubbing.
The win was a perfect way to bounce back from a two-game stinker against the Cincinnati Reds.
Naturally, there was a lot to like in the performance.
Here are the top three:
1. A Win
Whether it’s against chilly Detroit or balmy Tampa, a win is always nice.
And lately, it’s been a stat hard to come by for this Guardians side.
Losers of five of their last eight, including a two-game sweep against the Reds, Cleveland desperately needed to get back on track.
Winning … It's good!#ForTheLand | #GuardiWins pic.twitter.com/9rr1nLPfMg
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) May 21, 2022
And the team delivered.
The offense popped off for the most runs they had managed in a week, stacking up 10 runs to Detroit’s three.
With key contributions from Amed Rosario, José Ramirez (more on him in a moment), and Owen Miller, the team cruised to victory.
And the pitching wasn’t half-bad either, keeping the Tigers scoreless into the seventh.
Recently, Cleveland suffered from only one-half of the team showing up.
A big offensive night would be squandered by terrible pitching.
Or a mostly strong night of pitching would be met with zilch from the offense.
Finally, the stars aligned.
And what do you know, it turned out to be a winning formula.
2. Civale Sizzle
The last time we saw Aaron Civale on the mound, he…struggled.
It’s not a great day at the office when you give up six runs through less than five innings.
Or when your ERA is almost 10.
Fortunately, the stable, strike-throwing Civale showed up today.
He looked unrecognizable from the embarrassing start against the Twins, going for six and a third without giving up a single earned run.
It was good enough to drop his ERA to a still unsightly, but somehow more palatable 7.84.
Jokes aside, Civale had a strong outing.
Thankfully, another great pitching performance wasn’t wasted on poor hitting.
Not only was Civale strong, but he was backed up by a slew of offense.
In addition to not giving up a single run, Civale only walked a single batter, gave up just three hits, and recorded three strikeouts.
Kudos to Civale for getting back up on the mound and shaking off last week’s rough game.
Bouncing back is an underrated skill and one that is necessary to help a team win games.
3. Ramirez’s Rhythm
36 hours ago fans were wondering if Ramirez would even suit up for this game after fouling a ball off his shin.
But the star made the start, leaving little question about his health.
He turned on the jets early for a first-inning triple, wasting little time showcasing his leg strength.
Then, in the fourth, he opened the game up with a three-run homer, his ninth on the season.
Guess his leg feels okay …#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/kXen7KlEY2
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) May 21, 2022
The three RBIs not only accounted for half the runs scored in the game but catapulted Ramirez back atop the RBI leaderboard.
The Guardian’s third baseman overtook Mets slugger Pete Alonso for most RBIs in baseball, with 37 so far.
It would have been a feel-good story had Ramirez played at all, given his injury concerns.
But he somehow found a way to up the ante, contributing to a strong, much-needed overall offensive performance from Cleveland.
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