1 – More southpaws.
The Guards will be facing three left-handed starters for the Angels. Hopefully, the Guards can figure out how to be successful against lefties as they are 4-11 in the current season against starting southpaws.
2 – Stepping up.
Last year it felt like there was always someone to step up and lead the offense for the Guards. Steve Kwan, Josh Naylor, Oscar Gonzalez, Andres Gimenez, and JRAM, all had moments when they lifted the Guards to victory with their hitting and sometimes it would be an entire week, not just one game. The Guards need more of that when they can lean on one-hitter to lift the club.
3 – Three games out in the loss column
If there’s one reason to exhale, it is that the Guards are only three games out in the loss column behind the Twins.
Despite struggling to score runs in their past 10 games, the Cleveland Guardians have managed to stay afloat in the season’s first six weeks. However, they will need to improve their performance in the batter’s box as they begin a three-game series with the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Friday night. On Wednesday, Cleveland’s struggles were evident as they were held to just four hits in a 5-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The hitting coach, Chris Valaika, acknowledged the team’s poor performance and emphasized the need to meet the expectations, both internally and externally. Left-hander Logan Allen, who has a 2.70 ERA and a 1-1 record, will be pitching his fourth start of the season on Friday and will be hoping for better run support. In his previous outing, Allen pitched well but settled for a no-decision. The rookie has never faced the Angels before. Despite the current rough patch, the Guardians will continue to compete and hope to weather the storm as the season progresses.
Tyler Anderson, another left-handed pitcher, will be facing Logan Allen as he tries to help the Los Angeles Angels regain their form. The Angels had a five-game winning streak that carried over into the first week of May, but they have since lost four of their last five games, including a 5-4 defeat to the Houston Astros on Wednesday. Los Angeles had a comfortable start, but a four-run fourth inning by Houston derailed their momentum. Allowing opponents to put together hits has become a significant concern for the Angels, as they have given up at least three runs in an inning in each of their last five games. Manager Phil Nevin acknowledged the issue and stated that they are working to address it. Anderson will need to stop the Angels’ negative trend, and he could enter Friday’s game with some confidence after pitching well in his previous two outings. He allowed only one run in a season-high 6 2/3 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 28 and gave up three runs (two earned) in five innings against the Texas Rangers last Friday, where he struck out 13 batters in both games combined. Anderson has never faced the Guardians in his eight-year major league career.
Typically, leading the league in close games is not a good sign for teams with good records. Eventually, luck may turn against them and they will start losing those nail-biters. This can be a sign of a temporary success that may not be sustainable.
However, this is not necessarily the case for the Guardians. Despite their struggling offense, they have managed to keep many games close and maintain a record around .500. This could be interpreted as a positive sign, indicating that they have the potential to win more games in the future when their offense improves. Despite hitting a low team batting average and with no home run power, they have managed to squeeze out some victories.
Need to see more than 2 runs scored over these next 3 home games against the Angels, this is getting worrisome.
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