A walk down memory lane in Guards loss

 So much for the momentum generated by the extra-inning over Chicago.

The Guardians' offense continued to hibernate, and Cleveland continued to squander strong starting pitching efforts in a 3-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners on June 26.

Kahlil Watson's RBI double in the first inning plated Cleveland's only run. Seattle pitchers limited the Guardians' punchless lineup to just four hits in total. Luis Castillo picked up the in allowing just four hits and a run while striking out four.

Joey Cantillo started for Cleveland and allowed one run on two hits over six innings while striking out nine. The run came with personal significance and sent an emotional jolt through the staff at Chappie's Grave. It came off the bat of Seattle rookie shortstop Chase Emerson. Emerson during his first at-bat in the third inning, turned on a Cantillo change-up and hit a rope just over the right field wall for a home run.  

Emerson graduated from John Glenn High School and was a first-round pick of the Mariners in the 2023 Draft. John Glenn High School holds a special place in the heart of the staff at Chappie's as it was one of the the high schools we had to cover during our first-ever job in journalism as a sports writer at The Daily Jeffersonian in Cambridge. Many a night and afternoon was spent by this scribe documenting the wins and losses of the John Glenn Muskies. To see a kid from that school make it to the big league and then hit a first home run in his first at bat in Cleveland was surreal. But it also felt inevitable. I always knew that a someone from down that way was going to end up in the pros, whether it be the MLB, NFL, or NBA. There have been others who almost made it. Jameel Turner played football at Cambridge and then went on to start as a defensive back at Toledo; Dustin Ford, also from Cambridge, went on to play basketball at Ohio University and then on to a coaching career as an assistant at several Division I programs and just this year got the head coaching job at Akron. There was Rob Fehrman from Byesville Meadowbrook who played football at BGSU and then ended up on the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Cantillo lasted six innings. He gave way to Tim Herrin, who ended up giving up the go-ahead run and was saddled with the loss. Herrin walked the first two hitters he faced. It looked like he might wiggle out of the jam when Josh Naylor hit into a double play that was executed in part by a nifty field play by Brayan Rocchio. But on the play Cal Raleigh, who walked to lead off the inning, moved to third. With two outs JP Crawford hit a soft ground ball up the middle. Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzan moving to his right, backhanded the ball but dropped it while taking it out of his glove to make the throw, allowing Crawford to reach first on a cheap hit and Raleigh to score the go-ahead run. Julio Rodriguez added an RBI single in the eighth. 

That leads us back to Bazzana. I love his offense, but he just isn't what this team needs from a defensive standpoint at second base. Rocchio makes that play; Gabe Arias makes that play; Daniel Schneemann makes that play. The margins between wins and losses are so thin for this club that is so offensively challenged. Cleveland has to play perfectly on defence. That's been the recipe the past two seasons under manager Stephen Vogt. Perhaps we were spoilt by watching Gold Glove second baseman Andres Giménez save run after run in 2024. 

Cleveland's offense couldn't answer as the game wore on. Seattle pitchers retired the final 15 Cleveland hitters in a row. Jose Ramierez better heal up fast.

There was some other intrigue. Cleveland brought up minor league hitting sensation Cooper Ingle to perhaps spark the offense. Batting in the No. 5 hole as the DH he went 0-for-2 with a walk. The crowd was nice – 32,832.

There was more bad news. Chicago pasted Kansas City, 22-1.  That means was we wake up this morning on June 27, the White Sox are in first place all alone at 42-38 while Cleveland is in second, a full game behind at 42-40.