It may not have been Jason Giambi’s golden thong, but the Guardians ended their hitless streak with an unconventional approach on Saturday.
The Guardians canceled traditional batting practice and instead held a home run derby and batting game. Guardian radio announcer Tom Hamilton reported.
The change reinvigorated the offense, and Cleveland recorded its highest score of the season, beating the Rangers 13-5 at home.
“Overall it was a fun night,” Guardians coach Steven Vogt said. From MLB.com“The pitching was great. The offense was great. It was fun to put up some weird numbers and then carry on after that.”
The Guardians had dropped six of seven games going into Saturday’s game and their lead in the AL Central division had shrunk to just one game, but a lackluster offense was the main culprit.
Cleveland scored 18 runs during that stretch, including nine in 12-inning games against the Yankees, and four of those games saw them score one run or less.
This season, the Guardians were 13th in points scored as of Monday.
With the Royals and Twins on their tails, the Guardians needed to find some energy, but MLB teams often come up with unconventional ways to boost a sagging offense.
The team decides its batting order by drawing lots, Giambi has worn gold leashes to ease tensions in the clubhouse and the team frequently tries to change the batting schedule.
The Guardians put on an entertaining performance in the latter game, tormenting the Rangers and scoring in seven of the eight innings with 15 hits.
Eight batters drove in at least one run, with outfielder Jonkensy Noel leading the way with three.
“It’s easy to be optimistic,” Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan said, according to MLB.com. “When we got out, we got out with a bang. This time it was like, ‘All right, here we go.’ It just takes one hit, one barrel, one good at-bat and everybody starts to click. Hitting is contagious. I’m kind of excited to see what happens next.”
The Guardians built on that success with another solid offense on Sunday against the Rangers, winning 5-3 and now leading both the Twins and Royals by three games.
