ANAHEIM ¨C Through every Angels batter that he faced in Sunday¡¯s 6-2 Guardians loss, Luis L. Ortiz carried the same mentality on the mound:
Attack.
¡°It¡¯s important for me,¡± Ortiz said in Spanish. ¡°Because when you get ahead, you get them thinking. It¡¯s easier for you to get them out that way. And obviously the other way around, when you¡¯re behind and gotta come into the zone, that¡¯s when they take advantage.¡±
And while the Angels were able to take advantage in spots ¨C namely Logan O¡¯Hoppe and Jorge Soler¡¯s home runs in the second and sixth innings ¨C Ortiz, for the most part, looked like he was starting to settle in with his new team.
There were early struggles aside from O¡¯Hoppe¡¯s aforementioned homer, as Ortiz gave up two runs on six hits through the first three innings, but his aggressive mindset mostly paid off as he didn¡¯t allow a hit over the next two frames. Soler made him pay on a hanging slider to lead off the sixth, but Ortiz worked quickly through the rest of the side in order to finish off the day on his terms.
His six innings pitched were the longest by any Guardians starter this season.
¡°I thought Ortiz was outstanding attacking the strike zone,¡± Guards manager Stephen Vogt said. ¡°Left three sliders over the middle. They all got hit for all three runs. But I can't ask anymore. I always attacked the zone. He was super efficient, kept us in the game, gave us an opportunity to win. We just couldn't get enough offense.¡±
Ortiz was Cleveland¡¯s prized acquisition this past offseason, acquiring him from Pittsburgh in a trade that sent Andr¨¦s Gim¨¦nez to the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched a career-best 3.32 ERA with 117 strikeouts and 1.113 WHIP over 15 starts with the Pirates in 2024.
He had a disastrous 2025 debut in San Diego, where he got shelled for seven earned runs on nine hits and four walks before being pulled after 4 2/3 innings. But his second start? No walks. Three strikeouts. Three earned runs.
Austin Hedges, who caught both of Ortiz¡¯s starts, noticed the difference.
¡°I thought he was great,¡± Hedges said of Ortiz. ¡°I thought he made some great adjustments from the last outing and really executed all of his pitches. And I think he's starting to understand who he is and what makes him good. He went out and gave us a quality start.¡±
Ortiz maintains that his mentality is the same every time he steps on the mound, but to him the difference Sunday ¨C and the difference in the home runs he gave up ¨C was his execution.
¡°It was a pitch that I didn¡¯t want to throw down the middle and it got stuck,¡± Ortiz said. ¡°As pitchers, when we throw the pitches in the locations we want, we take a lot of pride in that. But when we miss, we pay for it.¡±
The Angels made Ortiz ¨C and the Guardians bullpen ¨C pay for their mistakes on Sunday, but Ortiz has laid down a foundation that he can keep building on in his next start, which will be his first at Progressive Field as a Guardian.
¡°I haven¡¯t pitched there yet as part of this team. But I know when I do, I¡¯ll be giving my all. I¡¯m gonna do what I need to do to make the fans proud.¡±
AL Central outlook
The Guardians fell to 3-6 after dropping two of three in Anaheim. They finished their season-opening road trip with two straight series losses to the Angels and Padres.
They entered Sunday in a three-way tie for second place with the Royals and Twins, but Kansas City¡¯s win over Baltimore put the Royals squarely behind the division-leading Tigers (who are the only AL Central team above .500 through the first nine games).
Meanwhile, Cleveland is now tied for third place with the Twins, who blew a six-run lead to the Houston Astros in extra innings. They¡¯re both one game ahead of the last-place White Sox (2-7).
With the rough road trip to start the season now behind them, the Guards have an opportunity to make up some ground in their upcoming homestand as they¡¯ll host the ChiSox and the Royals each for a three-game series, the latter of which they¡¯ve already beaten on the road.