Cleveland Guardians Skipper Reacts After Tough Loss To Yankees

Guardians’ Stephen Vogt Reflects on Tough Loss to Yankees

Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt shared his thoughts following a narrow 3-2 loss to the New York Yankees in the opening game of their series in the Bronx, where Tanner Bibee and Carlos Rodon engaged in a classic pitching duel.

Bibee kicked things off strong, striking out the side in the first inning. He ultimately pitched 6.1 innings, allowing four hits, three earned runs, two walks, and recording six strikeouts. Despite the loss, Vogt was quick to praise Bibee’s performance, saying, “Bibee was outstanding. That’s as good as we’ve seen him. He was cruising, keeping his pitch count low, getting a lot of contact and punch outs. His outing was much better than his final line shows. He gave up those two homers at the end, but he was really special tonight.”

Although Bibee had thrown 91 pitches when he entered the seventh inning, Vogt said he had no hesitation in sending him back out. “He was cruising. This was one of his best outings of the year. So there was no doubt in my mind to let him continue,” Vogt explained.

Unfortunately, the Yankees capitalized in that seventh inning, with Jazz Chisholm and Anthony Volpe hitting back-to-back home runs, marking the turning point of the game.

However, Vogt emphasized that the loss wasn’t solely on Bibee. Despite his solid outing, the Guardians’ offense struggled to back him up. Cleveland managed only five hits and struck out eight times against Rodon, a pitcher who has had success against them in the past. Vogt highlighted Rodon’s effective use of his changeup, saying, “He wasn’t throwing off-speed in the zone much, but his slider was working, and he just pitched outstanding.”

With the history of close games between the Guardians and Yankees, Vogt wasn’t surprised by the one-run outcome. “Nine of the last 15 games between us and the Yankees have been decided by two runs or fewer,” he said. “It only made sense for this game to be close too.” With that in mind, Vogt expects Wednesday’s game to be another tightly contested matchup.