Cleveland Guardians’ brand of baseball secures first win of 2023

On Apr 1, 2023

The Guardians established their own brand of baseball in 2022, one that propelled them to the postseason. And they’ve already brought it into 2023.

After being shutout on Opening Day, Cleveland secured its first win of the 2023 season with a 9-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners Friday night. And it was decidedly, and purely, in the fashion of the Guardians’ way of winning.

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Guardians manager Terry Francona told reporters in Goodyear, Ariz. this spring that while it would of course be a plus if Cleveland can hit for more power in 2023 — they ranked second-to-last in the majors last year in home runs — if they need to win with their more ‘demanding’ style, then that’s fine by them.

In terms of the offense, that style is primarily built on a lot of contact and aggressive base running. In essence, the Guardians give themselves as many chances as any other team in the league to force opponents into mistakes or, even, a level of luck that might go Cleveland’s way.

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Last year, the Guardians ranked first in instances of going from first-to-third on the base paths. They were also third in stolen bases. More than half the lineup is capable of stealing 20-plus bases, and hitters like Steven Kwan take pride in being as ‘annoying’ as possible, which translates to being difficult outs in the form of making pitchers work or fouling off pitches.

Francona has noted in the past that, of course, a few extra three-run home runs would make things a lot easier on them. And it’s entirely possible, if the Guardians again have that kind of a lack of power, it could lead them down a difficult road. But they’ve also shown to be baseball’s best in their own style of baseball.

One of the key plays in Friday’s game included a fly ball to right field that was caught by Mariners outfielder Teoscar Hernandez. As he threw the ball into the infield, it hit Mike Zunino and got away. That allowed one run to score. A throwing error to the plate and some additionally aggressive base running then brought home another run.

“I thought our base running was excellent,” Francona told reporters in Goodyear, Ariz. “we made them fight for everything and Zunino got in the way of that throw, and I know that’s not by design, but that really helped us. But our base running then took over from there and really helped.”

That was how the Guardians scored their first runs of the season. And it couldn’t have been more on brand. Now, the ball hitting Zunino as he returned to first base after the catch was pure luck. But the Guardians’ point in all of this is to try to force these types of situations and then be ready to capitalize.