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Jul 14, 2023

Guardians 5, Twins 2 (F/10): Gray's Gem Goes to Waste in Extras

Sonny Gray looked like a Cy Young Award frontrunner, and the Twins were one out away from winning the game and taking one of the most important series of the season. But it’s 2023, after all, and the

Sonny Gray looked like a Cy Young Award frontrunner, and the Twins were one out away from winning the game and taking one of the most important series of the season. But it’s 2023, after all, and the Guardians rallied to steal the game in extras.

Box ScoreStarting Pitcher: Sonny Gray, 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (81 pitches, 56 strikes, 69.1%)Home Runs: noneBottom 3 WPA: Kody Funderburk (-.459), Jhoan Duran (-.207), Carlos Correa (-.147)Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Gray and Bibee dominate their opposing lineups early Neither offense was able to accomplish much during the first portion of this game, with both lineups combining for only two hits during the three opening innings. Both Sonny Gray and rookie right-hander Tanner Bibee looked dialed in right out of the gate, and this game seemed destined to be a low-scoring affair.

Gray, in fact, surrendered a leadoff double to Steven Kwan on the game’s second pitch, but not only did he retire the side to finish the inning, he also actually retired 13 consecutive batters. He needed only 43 pitches to complete four innings of scoreless ball while striking out four. Not only was Gray brilliant to start this game, but he also had some stellar defense behind him, with Carlos Correa making a pair of great stops at short and Max Kepler making a beautiful sliding catch in the third:

Bibee was just as brilliant, no-hitting the Twins for two innings and piling up five strikeouts through three. But his second time through the Twins lineup was anything but pleasant. Jorge Polanco jumped on the very first pitch of the fourth for a leadoff double, and Correa, Kepler, and Royce Lewis, despite not reaching or moving up Polanco, managed to drive Bibee’s pitch count up. It took the Cleveland righty 21 pitches to retire the trio.

Twins take advantage of their first big opportunity The quality of the at-bats didn’t change for Minnesota in the fifth, and the Twins created their first big offensive moment of the game. Matt Wallner drew a four-pitch walk to lead off the inning, and after Ryan Jeffers struck out on a seven-pitch at-bat, Donovan Solano singled to left on the first pitch he saw.

Bibee struck out Jordan Luplow next, but not before throwing six pitches. Then, with Édouard Julien at the plate, he struggled with his command once more, giving up a bases-loading walk to the Twins rookie. That brought Polanco to the plate, and he lined a short single to center to drive in Wallner and Solano.

Gray departs earlier than expected After throwing only seven pitches to get through the sixth, Gray’s pitch count was merely at 62. He looked poised to go deeper in this game than he’s gone in any other start this season, perhaps even shooting for his first complete game since 2015. But oddly enough, he struggled a bit during the seventh, and that ended up being his final inning of the game.

His command seemed a little off to begin the seventh, causing him to give up a leadoff walk to Kole Calhoun – his first and only walk of the afternoon. He took some time to apparently remove one of his cleats, and when Ramón Laureano stepped up to the plate next, Gray's command looked even worse. He nearly plunked Laureano in the helmet and threw a wild (I mean wild!) pitch, allowing Calhoun to steal second.

Fortunately, Gray was able to settle in and retire the next three batters to finish the seventh, but he was promptly removed from the game after that, even though his pitch count was still at only 81. Gray was able to deliver another excellent start, even though it was apparently cut short. This is the first time he has thrown seven innings or more in back-to-back starts since July 12, 2019, and his season ERA is now down to 2.94. It is shocking that ESPN currently doesn’t include him on their “Cy Young Predictor” top 10 rankings.

Bullpen gives up the lead, game goes to extras Things did not look promising when the bullpen took over in the eighth. Griffin Jax gave up a leadoff double to Gabriel Arias, and despite retiring the next two batters, he was replaced by Caleb Thielbar before he could get the final out. With an inherited runner on third, Thielbar gave up a single to Kwan, and Cleveland got on the board. Then, when José Ramírez drew a walk, things got really scary, but Caleb managed to induce the forceout to end the threat.

Jhoan Durán came in to get the save, but things didn’t go smoothly for him either. After a quick first out, the Twins’ star closer gave up a walk and a single. Both runners moved up on a groundout by Arias, but Durán was still one out away from ending the game. With Bo Naylor at the plate, Durán struggled mightly and needing only one strike to finish Naylor off, he threw a wild pitch that went behind him, allowing Andrés Giménez to score the tying run.

Cleveland rally is complete in the 10th With the game on the line, Emilio Pagan and his 10.50 ERA in high leverage took the mound to pitch the top of the 10th. But despite his poor recent performances in high leverage, he had no trouble getting two outs on seven pitches. Before he could record the final out, though, an intentional walk was given to Ramírez, and Pagán was pulled, with Kody Funderburk being brought in to try to end the inning.

But the plan went horribly wrong. The rookie was all over the place, throwing three balls nowhere near the strike zone. The only pitch he threw for a strike was obliterated by Calhoun for a soul-crushing three-run home run. The offense went down in order in the bottom of the 10th, and the Guardians’ season survives.

Postgame interviewComing soon.

What’s Next? The Twins have a day off on Thursday before they kick off a three-game set against the Rangers in Arlington over the weekend. Game one of the series is scheduled for Friday at 7:05 pm CDT, and Joe Ryan (9-8, 4.33 ERA) takes the mound for Minnesota, making his second start since returning from the Injured List. Max Scherzer (12-5, 3.71 ERA) is expected to start the game for Texas.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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