Martínez delivers lone run as Guardians' lefty struggles continue

WEST SACRAMENTO -- Angel Martínez got a 2-1 changeup from A’s left-hander Jeffrey Springs in the eighth inning on Friday that hung over the other half of the plate. Martínez drove it a Statcast-projected 390 feet to left field, over the wall for a solo home run.

Martínez’s blast represented the Guardians' lone run on Friday, in their 5-1 loss to the A’s at Sutter Health Park in the opener of a three-game series. Not only did Cleveland fall back to .500 (37-37), but their record against left-handed starters dropped to 6-14.

The Guardians’ success against southpaws was crucial to their AL Central title last season; they had the best record in the Majors against lefty starters (29-15, .725 winning percentage). This season, only the Rockies (2-19, .095 winning percentage) have a worse record.

Springs limited the Guardians to one run on three hits and one walk over 7 1/3 innings on Friday. Other than Martínez’s homer, Austin Hedges singled in the third, and José Ramírez doubled off him in the fourth.

“He mixed in a couple spin pitches,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “But he was crowding our righties with the fastball and throwing the changeup off of it. We just weren't able to pick it up and make an adjustment. We were not ourselves tonight offensively.”

Friday marked the 16th time the Guardians have scored four or fewer runs through their 6-11 start to June. The offensive issues have been a recurring theme for an extended stretch recently. Cleveland entered Friday 25th in the Majors averaging 3.81 runs per game.

The lefty issues have been pronounced, certainly coming off last season. The Guardians are hitting .221 against them (23rd in the Majors) with a .287 on-base percentage (24th) and .329 slugging (29th).

“We've struggled,” Vogt said. “Our right-handed hitting has struggled this year for whatever reason. Lane [Thomas] has been out a lot of the year. [David Fry’s] been out a lot of the year. We just haven't been able to get things rolling versus lefties.

“We beat [Robbie] Ray [Tuesday] night, but it’s just been one of those things where we're still continuing to work on it. We've really struggled vs. left-handed pitching.”

Thomas and Fry’s absences at points this season are one explanation, and of course Josh Naylor (.715 OPS vs. lefties in 2024) is now with Arizona. Thomas (who has a career .295/.358/.502 slash line vs. lefties) has been limited to 27 games due to two stints on the injured list. Fry (who registered a .996 OPS in 129 at-bats over 86 games in 2024) missed the first two months this season recovering from November right UCL revision surgery.

Thomas has an overall .146/.212/.191 slash line this season in 89 at-bats. He went 0-for-4 against Springs on Friday, while Fry (who has played 13 games and recorded 28 at-bats this season) went 0-for-3.

Those guys getting going would help, but the Guardians of course need more than that. Only three of their players have an OPS of .700 or above against lefties this season, no matter the sample size: José Ramírez (.989, 75 at-bats), Kyle Manzardo (.949, 36 ABs) and Martínez (.778, 60 ABs).

Among other Guardians against lefties, Carlos Santana has a .619 OPS, Gabriel Arias a .617 OPS. Lefty-hitting Steven Kwan has a .593 OPS this season, down from .893 a year ago.

Manzardo hits left-handed, as does Daniel Schneemann, both of whom have been key contributors for Cleveland this season. While their matchups against lefties have been limited, the Guardians’ lineup decisions do not simply boil down to matchups based on handedness. Vogt noted this week they look at every matchup and factor in what the opposing starter does well.

It’s also hard to hit left on left, and the Guardians have faced some challenging starters this month, such as Carlos Rodón, Max Fried, Andrew Abbott and Ray.

While the offense struggled on Friday, Guardians starter Tanner Bibee threw his first complete game. He allowed five runs (four earned) on 11 hits while striking out 10.

Bibee settled in after allowing three runs over his first two innings, including a NIck Kurtz two-run blast in the first. But the competitor in him was not looking to find a balance between his performance and the team’s.

“There’s not really a balance to it,” Bibee said. “We lost. It doesn’t really matter what I did on the mound. I still gave up four earned runs.”