CLEVELAND, Ohio — The quick fix on Tanner Bibee’s delivery worked just fine last week in Detroit when he threw seven scoreless innings against the Tigers.
Tuesday night against Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers, it looked like it needed more time in the shop. Ohtani hit his second homer in as many games and the Dodgers continued to pound Guardians pitching in a 9-5 win at Progressive Field.
The Guardians, after taking three out of four from the Tigers in Detroit, have lost three straight and six of their last 11 games. The Dodgers, leaders of the National League West and owners of a $335 million payroll, have won five of their last 11 games.
Bibee, after throwing 38 pitches and spotting the Dodgers a 2-0 lead in the second inning, retired them in order in the third. But he jumped right back into the frying pan in the fourth.
He opened the inning with two strikeouts, but Tommy Edman, hitting ninth, singled to right to bring Ohtani to the plate. Ohtani, who started Monday’s game with a first-pitch homer off Gavin Williams, skied Bibee’s first pitch into the left field bleachers for his 20th homer and a 4-0 lead.
It was Ohtani’s second homer off Bibee and the 11th of his career against Cleveland.
“When he hit that, I think a lot of people thought it was a pop-up,” said Bibee. “I mean, I did, too. I thought I was out of the inning.
“There’s just not a lot of lefty hitters who can go to the opposite field like that in this part. It was definitely crazy seeing that go up.”
Said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, “It was just one of those balls that when he hit it, it just kept going like a helium ball. It is true he has a lot more room for error than anyone else on the planet … maybe him and Aaron Judge.”
The Guardians, offensively challenged since they ran into Detroit’s Tarik Skubal on Sunday, found themselves back in the game thanks to one swing of Daniel Schneemann’s bat.
José Ramírez started the fourth with a leadoff single against Dodgers starter Dustin May. It extended his career-high hitting streak to 20 games and his on-base streak to 24 games.
May struck out Kyle Manzardo, but Carlos Santana, back in the lineup after missing two games with a sore left hamstring, walked. Schneemann drove May’s 1-0 pitch into the right field seats to make it 4-3. It was Schneemann’s seventh homer of the season.
“Schnee is having a great year,” said Guardians manager Stephen Vogt. “It was really good to see him get us back into that game, give us some momentum and some life. We just weren’t able to continue to keep it going.”
Ramirez is the first Cleveland player to hit in 20 straight games since Jason Kipnis did it in June of 2015. Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie’s 31-game hitting streak is the club record.
“Jose is one of the most consistent players in the big leagues,” said Vogt. “He brings it every day … He never quits.”
The Dodgers, however, continued to separate themselves from the Guardians on the scoreboard.
Michael Conforto pushed their lead to 5-3 with a homer off Hunter Gaddis in the fifth. Gaddis, activated from the bereavement list before the game, started the sixth in relief of Bibee. He retired Andy Pages to start the inning, but Conforto hammered his 3-2 fastball 406 feet over the center field fence for his third homer of the season.
Los Angeles made it 6-3 in the eighth on a single by Pages that skipped past Angel Martinez in center field. In the ninth, they turned out the lights on Max Muncy’s three-run homer to right off Nic Enright for a 9-3 lead.
The Dodgers came into the game leading baseball with a .308 (136 for 442) batting average with runners in scoring position. They quickly fattened that average.
Muncy walked to start the second and stole second for his second steal of the year. On cue, Pages sent a soft single into short enter field to score Muncy for a 1-0 lead.
Conforto sent a well-placed single between short and third that sent Pages to third. Rookie catcher Dalton Rushing scored Pages with a single to center for a 2-0 lead.
Schneemann, playing second, tried to get Bibee out of trouble as he fielded Tommy Edman’s grounder, tagged Rushing as he was head to second and threw to first for the double play. The Dodgers, however, continued to pressure Bibee.
He intentionally walked Ohtani and unintentionally walked Mookie Betts to load the bases for Freddie Freeman. The Dodger first baseman, who entered the game hitting .395 (9 for 23) with runners in scoring position, struck out to end the inning, but Bibee’s pitch count was mounting.
The Dodgers out-hit the Guardians, 13-6. The Guards scored twice in the ninth on a double by Gabriel Arias to make the score look closer than it actually was.
Bibee (4-5, 3.86) allowed four runs on seven hits. He struck out seven and walked three. It took him 95 pitches to get through five innings.
May (3-4, 4.20), facing the Guardians for the first time, allowed three runs on four hits in five innings. He struck out nine and walked two in 90 pitches.
After he beat the Tigers on Friday, Bibee told reporters that with the help of the coaching staff he’d made some quick adjustments in his delivery that allowed him to get more strikeouts, while getting deeper into the game.
He said the adjustments he made against the Tigers, helped him against the Dodgers.
“I think I threw the ball pretty well with the exception of that one inning (the second),” said Bibee. “I think I threw 35 to 40 pitches in that inning. Take away that inning, and it’s pretty positive outing.”
The loss dropped the Guardians to six games behind Detroit in the AL Central. After they beat the Tigers on Saturday night, 7-5, in 10 innings, they were three games back.
Next
Undecided vs. LHP Clayton Kershaw (0-0, 7.50) Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. CLEGuardians.TV, WTAM 1100, WMMS 100.7 FM, WARF and the Guardians radio network will carry the game.
