Travis Bazzana shows he’s ready for big time with game-breaking hit against Yankees 

While the Guardians and Yankees are complete polar opposites in they run their organization, almost all of their series recently have been must-watch TV thanks to them turning into two of the most consistent winners in the American League. 

And Tuesday’s opener between the two teams was exactly that, as both teams exchanged blows in the middle innings before Travis Bazzana broke the game open with a bases loaded double that helped lead to him getting a career-high four RBI. 

While José Ramírez generated most of the headlines from the game given he tied his career-high with three doubles and showed the kind of pop that fans have been begging for, Bazzana’s clutch double was a great sign that’s a tangible example of just how much he’s grown since making his MLB debut at the end of April.

Travis Bazzana continues to thrive for the Guardians 

Although the Guardians were winning at the time of Bazzana’s double, it looked like they were going to blow a bases-loaded no out situation after Patrick Bailey and Brayan Rocchio struck out against Camilo Doval. 

But Bazzana ended up catching up to a 100 mile per hour sinker from Camilio Doval and scooped it into the right field corner to clear the bases and put the game away. 

Not only did it help validate the Guardians’ decision to move Bazzana to leadoff spot (since it put him in that position), but it also showed how he can still be an impact big leaguer even without incredible home run power. 

Even if Doval has looked like a shell of himself since the Yankees acquired him at last year’s deadline, he’s still a former All-Star who boasts a triple-digit sinker. 

“There's a lot of funky releases,” Bazzana said after the win, per MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins. “Everyone's kind of (an) outlier, guys are throwing 100, different stuff. You're still learning how to best plan as a rookie for different pitchers. I’m feeling comfortable and confident. I've just got to keep going.”

Bazzana now has a .292/.382/.451 slashline in 31 games since getting called up and has gone 12-for-36 with eight doubles and six RBI since getting moved up to the leadoff spot. 

While the Guardians’ offense had a pretty drastic power outage last week, they were still able to win two games in the series thanks in part to Bazzana’s production at the top of the lineup. 

There’s always a bit more pressure on any team playing in New York given it comes with more attention, but Bazzana seemed ready to meet the moment with his sacrifice fly and bases-loaded double. 

Bazzana’s been able to thrust himself right into the middle of the Rookie of the Year conversation thanks to his strong play, and his double against the Yankees is another marquee moment that should help his case.

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