Who will handle Cardinals' closer role a question after Cleveland Guardians' walk-off win
Two walks by Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley in the ninth inning primed the Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez for a game-winning two-run double. Cleveland, Ohio, won 4-3, walk-off win over the Cleveland Guardians at Progress Field on Sunday afternoon. Jordan Montgomery walked two batters on four pitches apiece in the ninth inning to set the trap for Cleveland's walk-offs, and then snapped with a two-out, two-run double for the Cardinals. The Cardinals were one out away from securing a winning weeklong trip through Ohio, assuring a winning record in May and rewarding starter Jordan Montgomery with his first win since the first week of April. Cleveland had the largest three-day attendance in nearly four years and the added hospitality of being the lowest-scoring offense in the majors. They scored eight runs in three days, managed to win a game with only two hits and took a tour of Cleveland’s sneaky and good pitching staff. Who will handle the Cardinals' closer role a question after the game?
Published : 11 months ago by Derrick Goold in Sports
The Cardinals’ closer walked two batters on four pitches apiece in the ninth inning to set the trap Ramirez then snapped with a two-out, two-run double for Cleveland’s 4-3, walk-off win Sunday afternoon at Progress Field. The Cardinals were one out away from securing a winning weeklong trip through Ohio, assuring a winning record in May and rewarding starter Jordan Montgomery with his first win since the first week of April. All of that came apart when Ramirez drove a pitch to center field to score both his teammates who walked.
Cleveland welcomed the Cardinals back to Progressive Field with the largest three-day attendance in nearly four years and the added hospitality of being the lowest-scoring offense in the majors. The Cardinals acted like locals. They scored eight runs in three days, managed to win a game with only two hits and took a tour of Cleveland’s sneaky and good pitching staff.
Montgomery worked around three singles and two plays not made in the first inning to allow one run, and in the fifth inning, the Cardinals’ erased the lead. Alec Burleson hit his first homer in 31 days to tie the game. Andrew Knizner homered to take the lead and Paul Goldschmidt launched his 10th homer to widen the advantage. They gave Montgomery the lead as he left in the sixth inning and positioned the Cardinals to avoid losing Montgomery’s ninth consecutive start.
That has been a recurring event as the Cardinals clawed their way back to relevance. In Helsley’s past eight appearances, he has either a save, a win or, like Sunday, a loss. Both of the losses came on this road trip. The right-hander, an All-Star last summer, had not allowed an earned run until Ramirez’s two RBIs, and he got the win in extra innings with a perfect 1 1/3 innings Saturday night against the Guardians.
What has developed in the late innings is a tag team for closing with Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos alternating in the role. That’s based on availability and matchup, and Marmol has used them both to get outs beyond a single inning as a result. Gallegos had the hold or the save in all three of the Cardinals’ wins during the 3-4 trip through Ohio.
The Cardinals have toggled back and forth from Helsley to Gallegos, Gallegos to Helsley at closer in recent seasons, siding often with matchups, siding always with availability, and sometimes taking the temp and siding with the hottest hand. That is in play as the Cardinals head home for a two-game island series against Kansas City before returning to the road.
“We feel comfortable throwing Helsley in the eighth inning against the meat (of the lineup) and closing with Gio,” Marmol said before Sunday’s game. “There are times when, depending on usage, one of them is more fresh and we’ll go with Gio against the meat. It’s not just random. It’s more how they’re feeling going into that day and availability. One being able to bail the other out. ... That’s what you need. Good teams have the ability to shorten ballgames.”
Setup man Drew VerHagen was seven pitches and six strikes into his eighth-inning appearance when, suddenly, he had the bases loaded and only one out. The Cardinals ran the numbers and preferred to walk Josh Naylor and respond to Cleveland’s counter. When Terry Francona went to a left-handed hitter, the Cardinals had Cabrera ready for the matchup they preferred. Instead of Naylor’s .461 slugging off right-handed pitchers like VerHagen, the Cardinals had Will Brennan’s .158 slugging against left-handed pitchers like Cabrera.
Cabrera got two outs and threw only two pitches, but the ninth belonged to Helsley for the same reason Cabrera came into the eighth: the edge. Cleveland had infielder Andrew Gimenez and his .185 average against right-handed pitchers leading off. Due up second was Straw, a .228 hitter with a .286 slugging percentage against right-handed pitchers.
All four of the pitches drifted high and into the right-handed Straw as Helsley’s lead shoulder was twisting open early and causing his right arm to drag behind and alter his release point. Helsley said that his “front side was flying open a little too early,” and that he “didn’t make the adjustment quick enough.”
Topics: Ohio, Baseball, Cleveland