Travis Bazzana's reaction after Guardians' loss to White Sox is every Cleveland fan

Last night the Cleveland Guardians kicked off one of the biggest series of the year by suffering a gut-wrenching 6-5 walk-off loss to the White Sox. 

While any kind of walk-off loss is going to be frustrating, Cleveland’s loss on Monday was even more frustrating considering they fought back in the late innings to take the lead before Cade Smith surrendered a game-winning single to Sam Antonacci. 

As Antonacci and the White Sox were celebrating behind second base following his walk-off hit, Travis Bazzana spoke for all of Northeast Ohio when he screamed into his glove in frustration before walking off the field. 

Bazzana’s scream was a refreshingly transparent reaction that you don’t see that often in MLB considering how many games are played across the course of a season. 

Most of the time, players have a perspective of “we’ll get them next time,” which honestly is a good thing. They’d go crazy if they took every loss hard. 

But Monday’s loss was one that rose above the rest, and Bazzana had an appropriate reaction to it that was also shared by thousands across Northeast Ohio.

Travis Bazzana spoke for all of Northeast Ohio after Guardians’ loss to White Sox 

Bazzana’s frustration was understandable given how hard he worked to get the Guardians back into the game against Chicago. 

After opening the ninth inning with a walk against Seranthony Domínguez, he stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored the game-tying run on a single from Patrick Bailey. 

Not only did he gain two bases with his legs, but he also helped put Bailey in a position to succeed (Bailey eventually came around the score the go-ahead run on a Kyle Manzardo sacrifice fly). 

It had all the makings of a great win against a division rival. But those good vibes went away the next half inning after Smith had his hiccup. 

After the game, Rhys Hoskins told reporters that “it’s never easy” to flush a loss like that, and Bazzana’s reaction showed exactly why that can be. 

But that loss still doesn’t take away from Bazzana’s recent run of play, as he’s posted a .353/.476/.676 slashline in the last 10 games with 3 home runs, 7 RBI and 3 steals. 

The Guardians offense is in “survive and advance” mode due to injuries to José Ramírez, Chase DeLauter and Angel Martínez, and Bazzana has done a great job answering the call. 

His reaction on Monday also shows how important he’s become in the Guardians’ clubhouse despite being less than 50 games into his MLB career. 

That was the kind of reaction we’d see out of a veteran who has a clear understanding of their place on the roster, not a rookie who is still working to make an impression. 

Even though Monday’s loss was the Guardians’ worst loss of the year, it provided us with another example of just how much Bazzana cares. While that was never in doubt, it’s always exciting to see a player react to something in the same manner as the fanbase. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow