Guardians’ nightmare Tanner Bibee scenario just played out in loss to Nationals

The past year-plus from Tanner Bibee has been a bit of a roller coaster for the Guardians. There've been some clear positives like his team-friendly extension and his great finish to last year, but there’ve also been some clear negatives, most of which can be traced back to his struggles with the longball. 

Those struggles reached a head on Monday when Bibee allowed five home runs and seven earned runs against the Nationals in just three innings. 

That performance made the wrong kind of history, as he became the first Cleveland player to allow five home runs in the first three innings of a game along with becoming the third pitcher in team history to allow five strikeouts in a single start. 

While Bibee getting rocked by Nationals isn’t a huge surprise considering Washington leads baseball in pretty much every offensive category, it’s another example of how inconsistent Bibee has been. 

After the game, manager Stephen Vogt said he wasn’t too worried given Bibee pitched eight solid innings against the Tigers his last time out. 

Well, that’s the problem. 

Bibee’s start against the Tigers was clearly a great sign, but it came against a Detroit squad that has a team wRC+ of 95. Meanwhile, Washington entered play on Monday with a team wRC+ of 108 that will likely be even higher thanks to their offensive barrage against Bibee. 

The loss dropped Bibee to 0-7 on the season, which means he’s tied with Michael Lorenzen for the most losses in MLB. 

Tanner Bibee's struggles with the longball are becoming a problem

Earlier in the year some of those losses could be chalked up to his lack of run support. But Monday’s can clearly be tied back to his inability to keep the ball in the park. 

A resurgent Bibee would be a huge help to Cleveland, both because they signed him to that aforementioned five-year, $48 million extension, but also because they need him to be a quality starter at the top of the rotation. 

It isn’t a huge urgency thanks to Gavin Williams, Parker Messick and Joey Cantillo also pitching well in the rotation, but it’s going to be hard for them to keep their winning pace this year if Bibee’s giving up runs in bunches every time he takes the mound. 

Bibee showed how good he can be this year, as had posted a 2.59 ERA in his 41 2/3 innings prior to that start. But his struggles with the home run are always going to be lingering in the background until he proves he can stop them. 

He’s now allowed 12 home runs (which is tied for the fifth most in MLB) and has now allowed 69 home runs since he made his debut in 2023, which is tied for the 31st-most in that span. 

Bibee has shown that he can get Major League hitters out, but he’s going to need to show it more if he wants to continue to be a part of Cleveland’s long-term future. 

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