The Guardians' starting rotation is answering the call

Earlier this year, the Cleveland Guardians' starting rotation was Tanner Bibee and four question marks.

And while the Guardians' rotation still isn't complete, it's beginning to round into form at the perfect time.

The Guardians' starting rotation is answering the call

On Sunday, Bibee turned into another gem by allowing two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings with six strikeouts in the Guardians' win over the Astros.

While he wasn't on the mound when the Guardians picked up a classic 'Guards Ball' win, he kept them in the game on a day when the offense had trouble generating some life.

It marked the third straight game where the Guardians got at least six innings from their starting pitcher and the seventh straight game where their starter went at least five innings.

After only getting 137 2/3 innings from their starting pitchers in May (27th in MLB), the Guardians have gotten 42 innings from their starters so far this month, which is fifth in baseball.

Cleveland starters also have 3.00 ERA this month, a far cry from the 3.60 ERA they posted last month.

One of the biggest reasons for that change has been a strong showing from Bibee, who seems to have shaken off his rough start to the year.

He's gone 6 1/3 innings in each of his last two start, and has a 3.35 ERA across his last six starts. After allowing an eye-popping 14 across his first five starts, he's only given out seven free passes across his last six starts.

Bibee seems to have found the command he had last year when he finished the year in the 78th percentile (6.2%). The biggest thing to watch going forward will be if the Guardians keep letting him get a shot in the seventh inning — all of the runs he allowed over his last two starts were scored in the seventh inning.

Bibee's strong play as of late has been complimented by strong showings from Gavin Williams, who is finally beginning to pitch in a way that matches his potential. Williams' stuff is nasty, but he's never been able to have it all click at once.

That's changed as of late.

Williams has posted a 2.70 ERA over his last 33 1/3 innings (six starts) to go along with 34 strikeouts. While he's still walked 17 batters in that time frame, he's only allowed four walks over his last two starts.

That, coupled with Luis Ortiz finding his groove (2.28 ERA over his last five starts) has given the Guardians an element they never really had last year when they finished the year 23rd in baseball in starting pitcher ERA.

While the Guardians' success is obviously a boon for the team, it also means less work on the team's bullpen. While Cleveland's bullpen is only 15th in baseball in innings pitched (232 2/3 innings), they've been far more mortal this year (3.75 ERA) compared to last year (2.57 ERA).

In a perfect world, the Guardians would get six innings from their starter before ending the game with some combation of Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith and Emmanuel Clase.

That's been happening more this month than earlier in the year, which is perhaps the biggest reason why the Guardians' bullpen has a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings in June.

Last year, the Guardians made the postseason despite having a shaky starting rotation. If the past two weeks are any indication, that theme may be a bit different this year.