With all the offense that the Cleveland Guardians and Baltimore Orioles can put on display, it's best not to forget about pitching and defense. Those could be equally important factors when the teams meet in the middle game of a three-game series Tuesday night in Baltimore. The Guardians, whose bullpen ranks first in the majors in ERA (2.
32), WHIP (0.99) and opponents' batting average (.191), got three scoreless innings from relievers while holding off the Orioles for a 3-2 victory in the series opener.
The result was Cleveland's sixth consecutive win. "I've had calmer games this year," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "But we've talked about it all year, that's the beauty of this bullpen.
Every one of them can pitch in leverage. ..
. No matter what we ask of this group, they're coming in and getting it done." By winning Monday night, the Guardians beat the Orioles in reaching the 50-win mark, becoming the third team in the majors to get there this year.
Baltimore could join Cleveland in that group on Tuesday. "Really well-pitched game from both sides," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. "It doesn't get much easier (Tuesday).
" The Orioles took their fourth loss in a row on Monday despite a defensive highlight in the fourth inning. Baltimore right fielder Anthony Santander threw out Daniel Schneemann, who had tagged up on a fly ball, at the plate. "That was a guy who can run a little bit," Hyde said.
"Big play in a big spot, kind of felt like it gave us some momentum there..
