Patrick Bailey’s reaction to outrageous Diamondbacks bunt shows he’s already becoming Guardians legend

In the sixth inning of the Guardians’ eventual 5-0 win over the Diamondbacks on Sunday, Arizona utility man Tim Tawa tried to get his name in lights in his at-bat against Cleveland starter Gavin Williams. 

After leading off the inning by taking a curveball at the top of the zone, Tawa laid down a bunt that he fouled down the third base line. And it didn’t take long for the denizens of Progressive Field to let him know about it, as countless boo birds rang down from the seats while shortstop Brayan Rocchio put his hands up in disgust. 

But the biggest reaction came from Patrick Bailey, who shook his head after the attempt while muttering to Tawa about the attempt. 

A pitch later, Tawa did what he had attempted to do on the bunt as he rapped a single between first and second to break up Williams’ perfect game attempt. 

Although he was thrown out at second base on a fielder’s choice in the next at-bat, his bunt attempt lingered over the field like a rain cloud.

And when the actual rain clouds came two batters later, the effects of the bunt attempt rolled over the field when both benches cleared while the grounds crew tried to put the tarp on the field. 

It made for some great theater. 

But that debate between both teams goes back to how Bailey reacted to Tawa’s cheap attempt to get a hit and rob Williams of history, which Bailey immediately clocked. 

Even if Bailey hasn’t been with the Guardians long, Sunday’s moment was Tawa was another reminder that he’s wasted no time endearing himself to the residents of Northeast Ohio.

Patrick Bailey stood up for Gavin Williams after Tim Tawa’s pathetic bunt attempt 

This isn’t the first time that a team has used a bunt to rattle Williams in his quest to make history, as Royce Lewis did the same thing in the fifth inning of Williams’ gem at the beginning of the month. 

It clearly upset Williams — so much so that the rest of his team came to his aid this time. In both cases, the player who laid down the bunt ended up breaking up the no-hitter with a single.

Last year Williams nearly broke the Guardians’ no-hitter curse when he carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Mets, and Sunday’s outing was yet another start where it looked like he could do it. 

Although his attempt likely would have become a moot point due to the rain that eventually caused the tarp to go, it still doesn’t change the fact that the Diamondbacks tried to end that bid in the cheapest way possible. 

Bailey was behind the plate against the Twins when Lewis tested fate with his bunt attempt, so he had clearly seen enough as well. 

While he let his stick do the talking earlier in the game with a Statcast-projected 417-foot home run to dead center field earlier in the game, his readiness to throw down for Williams was just as encouraging. 

Still, that doesn’t take away from the fact he now has a .660 OPS with the Guardians, which is nearly 300 points better than what he had with the Giants earlier this season. 

At some point, Bailey may help guide Williams to a no-hitter behind the plate. But until then, it seems like Clevleand’s backstop is ready to hold opponents accountable if they try to break a no-hitter up with a bunt.

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