by Despite the efforts of Daniel Schneeman and his fourth-inning grand slam, the Cleveland Guardians were dashed by a final score of 9-5 against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday. The recurring problem of Cleveland’s pitching staff not playing in sync with the lineup reared its ugly head once again, and now the Guardians could be in major trouble.
Heading into Wednesday night’s contest, another talented run producer for Cleveland was moved to the injured list. After he smashed into the right field wall at Progressive Field, injuring his rib cage, Chase DeLauter will be expected to miss some time.
Luckily for the 39-35 Guardians, they aren’t the only team in the American League Central Division in a funk. The Chicago White Sox were blown out for the second consecutive game by the New York Yankees, and the division lead remains up for grabs heading into late June.
At the top of the third inning, Cleveland had already found itself in a five-run deficit. In the bottom of the first, a Christian Yelich solo home run and a two-run double from Sal Frelick put Milwaukee up by three before the Guardians had even swung a bat.
The next time up for the Brewers saw Yelich pick up two more RBI on a single, before All-Star hopeful Brice Turang brought him home with a double.
Cleveland’s only major spark of offense came in the fourth inning. After three walks were issued by Brewers starter Brandon Sproat, who left the game due to a hamstring injury, Schneeman corked a ball just over the 374-foot wall in right field for a grand slam.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, the one-run gap was as close as they would get all night.
In the next frame, the talented young Milwaukee outfielder, Jackson Chourio, smacked a ball into the right field seats for a two-run home run. This was the seventh run given up by Cleveland ace Gavin Williams, in what was another poor outing for the Guardians’ best player currently uninjured.
The game stayed at a 7-4 Milwaukee lead for the next three and a half frames before the Brewers picked up a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth, one of which was the first career RBI for highly touted prospect Cooper Pratt. Cleveland put no men on in the ninth, and Milwaukee moved to 45-26 with another solid performance.
Thursday’s series finale will pit two left-handed pitchers against each other: Cleveland’s Parker Messick (6-3, 2.86 ERA) and Milwaukee’s Shane Drohan (3-2, 3.59). First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 p.m.
