Guardians’ flaws on full display in up-and-down loss to Yankees 

In some ways, the Guardians’ loss to the Yankees on Monday was them at their best. They ‘Guards Ball’d’ their way to three runs. Angel Martínez hit a big home run. Cade Smith pitched more than one inning. 

But it was also them at their worst, as they were on their back foot thanks to an average start from Gavin Williams and weren’t able to break through late against the Yankees’ depleted bullpen. 

After the game, players from both teams described the game as having a postseason atmosphere thanks to all the substitutions and moves both managers made. 

But the Guardians are going to need to do a bit more if they want to truly compete in real postseason games. 

The Guardians aren’t a complete team yet

All year the Guardians have been riding the Angel Martínez roller-coaster. While there have been some stretches where he’s looked like a franchise cornerstone who can hit everything out of the park, there have also been some moments where he’s looked lost at the plate. 

Monday’s win was the former, as he rocked a huge two-run homer off Paul Blackburn in the sixth inning that staked the Guardians to a lead. 

Not only was it the longest home run of Martínez’s career (414-feet), but it was a step in the right direction after he entered 3-for-22 (.136) in six games in June. 

But the momentum from that homer went by the wayside an inning later when Hunter Gaddis surrendered the game-tying run on a Paul Goldschmidt groundout after Ben Rice and Trent Grisham opened the inning with singles. 

That was followed by a scoreless ninth inning set up by 1 2/3 fantastic innings from Cade Smith, though the Yankees’ bullpen was able to match him pitch-for-pitch after Aaron Boone pulled Camilio Doval in the eighth inning after he put two runners on. 

Manager Stephen Vogt was then forced to turn to Shawn Armstrong in extras, who eventually gave the game away via a bases-loaded single to Cody Bellinger. 

While Bellinger’s hit was obviously important, the big blow came a batter before when he walked light-hitting utility infielder Max Schumann. 

Schumann’ being in the game should have been a win for the Guardians considering he was hitting in place of Paul Goldschmidt, but it didn’t end up being that way. 

While the Guardians have good pitchers in their bullpen, the loss was another example of why the Guardians need to prioritize adding some kind of impact relief arm at the deadline. 

In a perfect world that kind of role would be occupied by guys like Gaddis and Armstrong, but they’ve been too inconsistent this season to be fully trusted. 

The Guardians have been able to rise to the top of the underwhelming American League by doing just enough to win games. Monday showed why that may not be a recipe for success in October. 

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