Guardians need more out their starting pitching immediately

There has been a very concerning trend for the Cleveland Guardians this postseason. Length of outings from their starting pitchers. This has gone from a relatively minor issue to an absolutely alarming state of affairs through the ALCS's first two games against the New York Yankees. The brief outings from their starters have been a major factor in being down 2 games to none and if that does not change soon, it could result in Cleveland's postseason run coming to an end rather quickly.

Short playoff outings from starters are nothing new for the Guardians. Cleveland is yet to have a starter reach the 5-inning mark and has seen one of their starters last 3 innings or fewer more often than not. The latest two outings against the Yankees have some of the shortest, and the impact from that could last for the rest of the series.

Getting 4 innings total from their starters is not acceptable by any means. Sure, Alex Cobb having to leave early in Game 1 due to an injury is the reason for his abbreviated start, but Tanner Bibee could not get out the 2nd in Game 2, and that resulted in the Guardians having to use seven additional pitchers in the contest, including turning to Cade Smith much earlier than he should have been. This is not a recipe for success, and it cannot continue once the series resumes on Thursday.

There is not necessarily anything wrong with an all-hands-on-deck approach in the playoffs, but there is a very distinct difference between a planned sequence of pitchers and having to go deep into the bullpen out of pure desperation. So far, the Guardians have been forced to use the latter approach, and with that in mind, it is far from surprising to see them trail 2-0. This series is not over yet, but if they are going to have a chance to turn things around, they will need someone to handle most of the innings for that to happen. If not, it will be time to look forward to next season and any potential moves they could make for a better outcome next time around.