The warmest weekend of the year in Cleveland coincided with the coldest performances by the Guardians’ offense this season.
Back-to-back outstanding starts by Ranger Suarez and Zack Wheeler helped the Philadelphia Phillies limit Cleveland to seven total hits in the final two games of their series. The Guardians were outscored by a combined 10-1 margin.
The interleague action continues Monday for the Guardians, who host the Milwaukee Brewers for a three-game series. Cleveland is 3-3 against National League teams during a 12-game stretch that also includes a road series against the Washington Nationals last week and a trip to visit the Cincinnati Reds next weekend.
Carlos Santana provided the Guardians their lone run with a ninth-inning sacrifice fly Saturday in a 7-1 loss in front of a sellout crowd, while the hosts never pushed a runner past second base against Wheeler in a 3-0 defeat Sunday.
“I felt like we had some good swings off of Wheeler early, but we didn’t have much to show for it,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “Then he went to work after that. He was expanding the zone at times, getting weak contact.”
“Especially from where we started to where we are today, I feel like we’re getting better,” added Vogt, whose team has won 20 of its last 31 games. “We’re going to continue to work through it all, but I really like the direction we’re heading.”
Right-hander Ben Lively (2-2, 3.46 ERA), who has been the Guardians’ most consistent pitcher, takes on Brewers righty Freddy Peralta (4-2, 2.18) in the opener.
It will be Lively’s sixth career start against Milwaukee, all since 2023 when he returned to the majors following a two-year stint in the Korea Baseball Organization. The right-hander is 0-4 with a 3.38 ERA against the Brewers.
Peralta has walked eight over 12 2/3 innings against Cleveland, going 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in three appearances (two starts). He has the third-lowest ERA in the National League and is holding foes to a .196 average, but strained his groin in his last start May 4 against the Chicago Cubs.
“Freddy set the tone against one of the best offensive teams in baseball,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said of the 4-0 home win. “He denied them and made big pitches.”
The Brewers had lost three straight, falling two games below .500, before bouncing back Sunday with a 4-2 win over the Rays in Tampa. Christian Yelich hit a solo homer and scored two runs while using a pink bat engraved with the name of his mom Alecia on Mother’s Day.
“The pink bat seemed to work,” said Yelich, who entered the game batting what would be a career-low .200 with a .298 on-base percentage. “It can’t get much worse out there, so I just figured I’d use it and see what happens. I let it ride and it ended up being a good day. Any time you hit a homer, you’ll take it.”
Milwaukee also should receive a boost next weekend when pitcher Brandon Woodruff is scheduled to rejoin the rotation after undergoing right shoulder surgery. The right-hander gave up a run on two hits with no walks and three strikeouts over 2 1/3 innings in his sixth and final rehab start Sunday at Triple-A Nashville.
–Field Level Media
