Guardians’ depressing ALCS loss ruined obvious chance for Shawn Armstrong to be become Cleveland cult hero

For three straight days in July 2017, Shawn Armstrong closed out three straight games for the Guardians. It started when he pitched the ninth inning in a loss to the Padres on July 5 before closing out two straight 11-2 wins over the Tigers. At the time, Armstrong was still a young pitcher who was fighting to pave his way in the big leagues. 

On Monday he took the ball for the third straight day, albeit with much bigger stakes given all three appearances came in the ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays. 

And he was able to answer the call with a seven pitch scoreless first inning that helped set the tone for the Guardians in a must-win game. He came out for the second inning but was pulled after allowing a leadoff single to Junior Caminero. 

Even though that single ruined Armstrong’s perfect outing, he did more than enough for a Guardians team that ended up bowing out of the postseason with a 7-3 loss.

Shawn Armstrong did his job on Monday. The rest of the Guardians didn't.

Although Armstrong’s regular season didn’t go the way either party expected after he missed the final two months of the season with a calf injury, he did great in the postseason with 8 2/3 scoreless innings while filling plenty of gaps for the Guardians’ depleted pitching staff. 

Although that pitching staff let Armstrong down after he was pulled from the game (Tim Herrin promptly gave up the lead four batters after he replaced him), the 36-year-old's gutsy postseason was an obvious win, and the kind of performance the Guardians expected out of him when they made him their “marquee” free agent signing.

That performance may not be enough to help him rise to the same level as Ryan Merritt since it came in a series loss, but it was still impressive given how laborious his regular season had been. 

That sets up what could be an interesting offseason for Armstrong, who is almost guaranteed to hit free agency (he has a $7 million mutual option but those are almost never picked up). 

He may have put together the highest walk rate of his career along with the lowest strikeout rate in the regular season, but his strong postseason showed that he clearly still has some gas left in the tank. 

This series showed the Guardians still have a clear hole in the middle of their bullpen, and Armstrong could be a logical option to fill it (again) if there’s more mutual interest between the two parties. 

Even if there isn’t, his strong ALCS means his time with the Guardians is going to end on a high note. Imagine telling someone that in July.

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