What We Discovered About Guardians Following Series Defeat To Braves

Tanner Bibee Is Back?

Tanner Bibee had not looked like the version we saw last year through his first four starts of the season. However, a switch was flicked for him on Saturday night.

Bibee dominated the second game of the series, pitching 7.0 innings. He allowed only two singles and struck out nine hitters, but more crucially, he did not give a single walk. Bibee struggled with command early in the season, but not in his most recent start.

This was the first start of the season that he had control with his fastball and it’s visible what that did for the rest of his pitch mix.

Hunter Gaddis Learns Crucial Lesson

Hunter Gaddis’ transformation from a starting pitcher to a great reliever was one of the best tales of April. However, the Braves taught him an important lesson throughout this series.

Gaddis allowed seven hits and four earned runs over 2.0 innings in the series. He lost the lead in each of the final two games. The Guardians were able to rebound in Game 2, but not Game 3.

The primary difficulty here was the location of his pitches. Gaddis learned the hard way what happens when you throw too many balls in the zone against a strong lineup like the Braves. They won’t swing and miss; they’ll tee off.

Mental Mistakes Hurt More Against Good Teams 

Mental errors are never a good idea. However, you can sometimes compensate for them against weaker opponents. The Guardians learnt the hard way that making such mistakes against contenders like the Braves

Cleveland had a chance to win the series in Game 3, but Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez made critical errors on the basepaths.

Kwan was caught stealing in the seventh inning, which will happen from time to time. However, he was picked out in the extra inning as the automatic runner on second base. Ramirez was also thrown out stealing in the eleventh inning after failing to slip into second.

The Braves made fewer mistakes and won the series.