CLEVELAND -- The Guardians talked amongst themselves in recent days about how much they looked forward to being back in Cleveland. And who could blame them? They were the last team in the Majors to play a home opener, and over nine road games to open the season, they went 3-6.
¡°When we landed at 4 a.m. [Monday] night,¡± manager Stephen Vogt said, ¡°it just felt right when we got off the plane.¡±
Cleveland returned to Progressive Field on Tuesday, and it enjoyed some home cooking. Nolan Jones -- after missing a walk-off grand slam by a few feet on a foul ball -- delivered a walk-off walk. It gave the Guardians a 1-0 win over the White Sox in the opener of a three-game series.
It was the first walk-off walk in a 1-0 game by any team since May 1, 2009, when the Dodgers beat the Padres, 1-0, on a Russell Martin walk. It was also the first walk-off walk in a 1-0 game for Cleveland since June 16, 1989, vs. Kansas City, when Pete O'Brien walked against Tom Gordon.
¡°The past two weeks have been absolutely insane for me, with everything in my life,¡± said Jones, whom Cleveland acquired from Colorado on March 22. ¡°... To get an opportunity to come in, in that last at-bat in that situation, that¡¯s what you dream about as a kid."
The Guardians were coming off a rough 1-5 West Coast road trip against the Padres and Angels, in which they scored two or fewer runs in four of the six games. As much as they want to consistently get results, they also maintain a wise perspective.
Bad stretches happen throughout the course of a 162-game season, even if they are magnified early on.
¡°Every team goes through a stretch where you lose more than you win,¡± Vogt said. ¡°For us, we're hitting our stride. We're going to get it rolling. We know there's some things that we need to improve on. We know there's some things that, with the new mix of guys, we have to come together with.
¡°This team is going to find its identity, and we're going to take it and run with it. And that's the fact that we're a really good ballclub. We've got really good players, and we're going to go out and win a ton of games.¡±
The Guardians were greeted by frigid conditions in their return home on Tuesday. It was 35 degrees at first pitch, marking the second-coldest home opener in Progressive Field¡¯s 32 seasons -- just a tad warmer than 2016, when it was 34 degrees. But they were home, nonetheless, where they enjoyed a new clubhouse that was renovated over the winter and a packed house of enthusiastic fans.
Cleveland¡¯s pitching staff responded with a stellar performance, as starter Ben Lively threw five scoreless innings and allowed just two hits. Four relievers (Cade Smith, Paul Sewald, Hunter Gaddis and Emmanuel Clase) limited Chicago to just a pair of walks over four innings.
That set the table for Jones and the offense in the ninth. Carlos Santana reached on a single against Mike Clevinger, Kyle Manzardo followed with an eight-pitch walk and Jhonkensy Noel then walked on seven pitches. Jones similarly worked a great plate appearance. After falling behind 0-1, he laid off three straight balls.
Jones said he picked up on the fact that Clevinger threw four four-seamers after he fell behind in the count to Manzardo, another lefty. Clevinger threw Jones a 3-1 four-seam fastball, and he hit it deep down the right-field line, hooking it just foul to narrowly miss a walk-off grand slam.
¡°Manzo took some good swings, so I felt like I was really geared up for a fastball,¡± Jones said. ¡°I felt like I put a good swing on the 3-1 [pitch], and thought I had a chance.¡±
Guardians fans were more than happy with the result of the next pitch, a four-seamer that Jones took for ball four to end it. And for the Guardians, even as strange of a game as it was, they hope it¡¯s another step in the right direction.
¡°We've had a couple different Opening Days, some big crowds playing on the road,¡± Jones said. ¡°Obviously, our offense hasn't been exploding the past couple days, but we're 10 games in. I think just getting back to these home fans, being in a comfortable environment, getting in the new clubhouse -- I think it's really good for us, and hopefully, we can start rolling from here.¡±