Bullpen bright spot of weekend as Guards swept by Brewers

MILWAUKEE -- The frustration was palpable after the Guardians dropped all three games in a key matchup with the National League Central-leading Brewers, but a major positive sign continued to be the stellar performance of the Cleveland bullpen, which continued its collective dominance in the series.

Cleveland’s bullpen fired four scoreless innings in relief of Gavin Williams on Friday night, with Pedro Avila, Eli Morgan and Scott Barlow holding the Brewers without a hit in the process. The trio of Nick Sandlin, Cade Smith and Tim Herrin combined to give up just one hit over three innings on Saturday night after taking over for Tanner Bibee.

In the series finale on Sunday at American Family Field, which the Guardians lost 2-0, Hunter Gaddis and Emmanuel Clase combined for two scoreless innings.

“First of all, they are talented,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “... All of them are platoon neutral. All of them can get out righties and lefties. They are really good and they really care about each other and root for each other and they are anchored by the best closer in baseball. It’s been a really special group.”

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In the series, the Guardians' bullpen gave up just two hits and two walks across nine scoreless innings, keeping the team within striking distance of Milwaukee in each game only to see the offense fall short.

“It’s been so unreal to watch them,” Sunday’s starter Ben Lively said of the bullpen. “You see them just bullying guys, and the hitters know it, too. They step on the mound and the [batters] already think, ‘Oh, I’m done.’ It’s unbelievable.”

Smith, who pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts on Saturday night, said the relievers embrace their roles.

“It’s been a ton of fun being a part of the bullpen,” he said. “Obviously, not the result we wanted with the series, but at the end of the day, it’s about leaving everything you have on the field. You trust the process and you come back ready to play again the next day.”

The bullpen has been a tight-knit unit throughout the season, he said.

“I think that’s the only way you can survive the season is by cheering for the guys next to you,” Smith said. “If one of us struggles, somebody’s going to come in and pick them up. The next time you struggle, you hope that somebody’s going to be there to pick you up. It’s really collectively sharing that burden, that load, and pulling together.”

Clase has converted 24 consecutive saves since May 20, tied for the third-longest streak in club history, but didn’t have a save opportunity in the series. He pitched in the eighth on Sunday and gave up a leadoff hit to Brice Turang but got Jackson Chourio to ground into a double play and then retired William Contreras to end the inning.

“He doesn’t like going three or four days without throwing,” Vogt said. “If it’s been a few days, he wants to throw, and it doesn’t matter what the score is.”

The Guardians starters also fared well this series, with Lively giving up two runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batter in six innings on Sunday.

“I thought he was outstanding. Great bounce back,” Vogt said. “I felt like he had his glove-side command back, which is what he was lacking last time out. He made a really good adjustment. Outside of the one [sweeper] to [Willy] Adames, I thought he threw the ball excellent.”

Lively gave up a leadoff triple in the first to Brice Turang, who later scored on Adames’ single. Milwaukee pushed across another run in the second on Eric Haase’s RBI groundout.

“It was a frustrating series. There’s no other way to put it,” Vogt said. “That’s a really good team over there, and they showed why. They can pitch.”

Milwaukee starter Colin Rea didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the sixth. He pitched seven-plus scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and hitting two batters.

“We didn’t get hardly anything over the [middle of the] plate to hit today, and he didn’t make any mistakes,” Vogt said.

The Brewers starters frustrated the Guardians throughout the series, he noted.

“They’re really good,” Vogt said. “When you’re throwing strikes, you’re getting ahead. And when you’re not missing anything out over the middle, you aren’t going to give up too many hits or runs. We just couldn’t get any offense generated this weekend. It was just one of those things. We weren’t able to get the big hit.”

The Guardians, who were held scoreless for the 12th time this season, have lost eight of their past nine games against the Brewers dating back to the 2021 season.

“There’s obviously some things that we could be doing better offensively, but that’s the case every night,” Vogt said. “You’ve just got to tip your cap to the way they threw. They knew us, they scouted us and they attacked our weaknesses and didn’t miss their spots. Good pitching will always beat good hitting.”