Cleveland’s solid series against Astros showcased Guardians' organizational strength

Over the weekend, the Houston Astros took two out of three games from the Cleveland Guardians. At face value, such a series shouldn’t really stand out as a win considering it ended in a Guardians loss, the final two games provided two clear wins for the Guardians’ rotation. 

On Saturday, starting pitcher Joey Cantillo pitched what may be the best start for the Guardians this season when he allowed one run across eight brilliant innings against the Astros in Cleveland’s blowout win. 

A day later, Slade Cecconi followed that up by allowing just two runs over six innings in the Guardians 2-1 loss to Houston. For most of the season, Cantillo and Cecconi took turns struggling at the end of the Guardians’ rotation.

 But their back-to-back solid starts should now have Guardians fans dreaming of how good the team can be if the two of them start to put it together. 

Joey Cantillo and Slade Cecconi have helped solidify the Guardians' rotation

Cantillo’s start against the Astros stood out in a variety of ways. Not only did he throw 44 curveballs (the most curveballs that any pitcher has thrown in a game this season), but he also pounded the zone with his fastball, which the Guardians have been asking him to do. 

That's exactly what we've talked about (with) attacking the zone,” manager Stephen Vogt said after the game. “That was one of the best games we've seen him pitch.”

While Cecconi’s start wasn’t as magical as Cantillo’s, it was still an obvious step in the right direction for a pitcher who was a clear liability at the beginning of the season. 

After starting May with a 6.56 ERA following a start where he allowed five earned runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Braves, Cecconi’s quietly settled into a solid rhythm. He now has a 2.38 ERA across four starts (22 2/3 innings) in June, though the Guardians have gone 0-4 in those games. 

"The hardest thing to do in this game is to be extremely consistent for nine consecutive months, day in and day out,” Cecconi said after he allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings against the Brewers last week. ”Consistent performance stems from consistent preparation, consistent routines. Consistency breeds consistency."

That consistency was the biggest thing that’s seemed to elude Cecconi during his year-plus with the Guardians. Last year he had two starts where he pitched into the ninth inning (one of which was a no-hitter), but he also had multiple starts where he allowed far too much hard contact and struggled with his command. 

Cecconi’s advanced stats make it seem like he’s more like the latter, but it seems like he’s finally figured out how to be successful while pitching to contact (24% strikeout rate). 

Meanwhile, Cantillo’s also settling in and was finally able to put together the kind of start the Guardians know he has in him. 

The Guardians already have a strong top of the rotation trio in Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee and Parker Messick, but Cantillo and Cecconi spent the weekend showing they’re not slouches either.

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