KANSAS CITY -- Tanner Bibee sat down in the Guardians¡¯ dugout for a few moments on Thursday and looked out at the Kauffman Stadium field. The Opening Day scene was being set, but it would not include the 26-year-old as originally planned.
Bibee was scratched from his scheduled start against the Royals on Thursday due to acute gastroenteritis, the Guardians announced. Veteran right-hander Ben Lively started the season opener on short notice, and he allowed three runs on four hits in five innings in the Guardians¡¯ 7-4 win in 10 innings.
¡°That's Ben. He just wants a pitch,¡± manager Stephen Vogt said. ¡°We called him [Wednesday] and alerted him of the possible situation. His heartbeat didn't change. It was like, ¡®OK.¡¯ That's who he is. He went out and gave us five awesome innings today."
The Guardians held out hope that Bibee would be able to pitch the season opener, which would have been his first Opening Day start, before making the tough call to scratch him four hours before Thursday¡¯s 4:10 p.m. ET first pitch.
¡°That¡¯s a horrific way to start the morning. He is our Opening Day starter,¡± Vogt said pregame of Bibee. ¡°He's more than earned that. To have to tell him that -- ¡®We're not going to have you pitch today.¡¯ -- he was obviously upset.
¡°He wanted to go, despite feeling like he has the last 36 hours. But it just wasn't the right thing to do. ¡ We have a long season ahead.¡±
Gavin Williams and Luis Ortiz were the Guardians¡¯ original probable starters for Saturday and Sunday. Those are now TBD in the wake of Bibee¡¯s scratch on Thursday -- leaving open the possibility of him pitching this weekend if he¡¯s well. The Guardians are taking things day by day with the off-day on Friday.
¡°[Bibee] should be in this first wave,¡± Vogt said. ¡°We just don't know exactly how the rest of the rotation is going to shake out."
Bibee earned the Opening Day starter nod last week after he emerged as a lead arm in the Guardians¡¯ rotation in 2024 -- when ace Shane Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery in April.
Bibee, who signed a five-year contract extension on Saturday, led the Guardians in starts (31) and innings pitched (173 2/3) in 2024, while recording a 3.47 ERA and 187 strikeouts.
¡°He¡¯s more than earned that right [to start on Opening Day],¡± Vogt said, ¡°and just wasn't able to do that."
Lively was a pleasant surprise last season. Despite not making his season debut until April 17 due to a viral illness that shortened his Spring Training, he went on to be one of Cleveland¡¯s most consistent starters as the staff dealt with injuries and inconsistency. Lively made 29 starts and tossed 151 innings (both second on the team) while recording a 3.81 ERA. Thursday¡¯s outing bore resemblance to last season; the Guardians needed Lively, and he was once again dependable.
¡°Huge credit to Ben for just stepping up,¡± Steven Kwan said. ¡°He didn't complain, didn't say anything. He was just ready to go."
The 33-year-old Lively was slated to make his season debut next week, during the Guardians¡¯ road series against the Padres. He initially stayed back in Arizona to work out at Cleveland¡¯s player development complex. The Guardians called him Wednesday morning, and he got on a flight to Kansas City at 2 p.m.
The possibility of pitching on short notice didn¡¯t seem to faze the right-hander.
¡°Foot on the pedal,¡± Lively said. ¡°That was a big thing with me last year. Once I get a call like this and saying you're pitching, [my] first thought [was] ¡®Let¡¯s go. Hit the gas and let's rumble.¡¯¡±