Slade Cecconi’s inconsistent pitching is starting to become a problem for Guardians

The good news for the Cleveland Guardians on Friday is that Slade Cecconi didn’t lose them the game on Friday. 

The bad news is that he didn’t necessarily win it for them either. 

While the Guardians’ offense staked Cecconi to a 4-0 lead Friday thanks to an explosive first inning, he still wasn’t able to go long enough to get the win due to a rough fifth inning where he surrendered three runs on four straight hits and a sacrifice fly before being pulled for Colin Holderman. 

Cecconi had obviously worked his way into trouble, but he theoretically should have had a lot more left in the tank considering he was at just 66 pitches, but manager Stephen Vogt clearly didn’t trust him enough to let him wiggle his way out the jam. 

That may not have resulted in the Guardians losing since Colin Holderman was able to put out the fire in the fifth before getting two outs in the sixth. 

The Guardians have been incredibly blessed with their starting pitcher health and have only had five pitchers start for them this season. But we’re beginning to get to a point where Cecconi is a clear liability in Cleveland’s otherwise stellar rotation. 

Slade Cecconi continues to be the most frustrating pitcher in Guardians' rotation

Cecconi got off to a good start with a 1-2-3 first inning before sneaking out of the second inning thanks to an Angel Martínez outfield assist at the plate on a ball Brayan Rocchio booted. 

While the Guardians’ lost Steven Kwan to the bereavement list earlier in the day, Martínez proved he could pick up the slack with a 98.6 mile per hour throw (the hardest of his career) that was right on the money to get Mickey Gasper. 

The Guardians’ bullpen was then able to close the door with 4 2/3 scoreless innings. 

For the first four innings, it looked like Cecconi was going to cruise through the game like he did last season when he pitched into the eighth inning twice and even carried a no-hitter into the ninth. 

He doesn’t rack up a ton of strikeouts, but when he gets in a groove he can be an above-average starting pitcher. The problem is that we haven’t seen that groove much this season. 

He impressed against the Tigers' lowly offense on May 18 before holding his own against the Phillies by allowing three runs in five innings. 

The Guardians don’t need Cecconi to be perfect. As of now, he likely wouldn’t even be in their postseason rotation. But the MLB season is a marathon that requires all hands on deck. 

He’s taken the ball every time it’s been his turn in the rotation, but it’s fair to start wondering if the Guardians are at a point where it may be worthwhile to hand the ball to someone else when that turn comes.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow