Bullpen falters in 9th as Guardians turn to closer by committee

CLEVELAND -- Stephen Vogt sat down for his pregame media session on Monday, and before he took any questions, the Guardians’ manager offered a preamble addressing the elephant in the room.

Vogt acknowledged there was not a ton of specificity he could provide regarding the ongoing MLB investigation involving closer Emmanuel Clase, who went on non-disciplinary paid leave on Monday through Aug. 31. From the baseball side of things, Vogt got ahead of one looming question.

“We're not going to name a closer,” Vogt said Monday afternoon. “We're going to go [closer] by committee for right now. …You'll see different people in the ninth. It could organically end up being one person. But for now, we're not going to officially name a closer.”

The bullpen’s order of operations played out perhaps as one would expect on Monday night, in Cleveland’s first game without Clase -- which included a ninth-inning save opportunity.

But the Guardians' relievers coughed up the lead in the last inning, eventually falling 8-6 to the Rockies at Progressive Field.

Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith and Tim Herrin followed starter Slade Cecconi and gave up five runs across two innings. Smith suffered a blown save during a tough ninth in which he was charged with four runs (one earned) and recorded just one out, as the Rockies turned a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 lead against him.

“Definitely not a normal Cade outing,” Vogt said postgame. “It just looked like he got a little bit sped up there.”

It put a damper on what was shaping up to be a nice comeback win for Cleveland (52-54), which got seven innings of two-run ball from starter Slade Cecconi. The Guardians trailed 3-0 going into the seventh but scored five runs on four hits and four walks in an inning where they sent 11 hitters to the plate.

The Guardians have lost three of four and are 6-5 since the All-Star break, with two games remaining before Thursday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline. But what they do at the Deadline still remains to be seen. Clase’s name had appeared on the rumor mill, but with him on non-disciplinary paid leave while under investigation, it effectively eliminates any chance of him being dealt, even if that chance was already slim to begin with.

In any case, Cleveland will have to work without Clase for the foreseeable future, and Vogt acknowledged it’s hard to replace someone such as him, while expressing confidence in the group he still has.

“These guys have faced the heart of orders in big spots,” Vogt said pregame. “The ninth inning is a different beast, but at the same time, that's why we've always pitched all of our guys in [high] leverage [situations for] as long as I've been here.”

That includes Smith, who picked up three saves in April while Clase was down for a handful of days due to right shoulder soreness. He is a logical choice for the ninth, and he entered Monday with a 3.02 ERA, a 2.04 FIP, a 1.19 WHIP and 65 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings over 46 appearances.

Smith has also consistently shown the slow heartbeat and mentality necessary to thrive in high-leverage spots, and he noted pregame on Monday that the preparation doesn’t change for him whether he’s pitching in the ninth inning or any other.

“It's the same job: To go out there and put up a zero,” Smith said. “That is what you prepare for. It's the same game you're still playing, regardless of what inning you're pitching in. So that doesn't change.”

Vogt noted Smith made a mistake pitch to Colorado first baseman Warming Bernabel, who led off the ninth by hitting a hanging sweeper to left field for a ground-rule double. Smith then committed a throwing error on a Brenton Doyle bunt single, which allowed Bernabel to score.

Smith then hit Kyle Farmer with a pitch, finally recorded an out on an Orlando Arcia groundout to third base before allowing a go-ahead RBI single by Tyler Freeman, which ended his day.

Before Smith, Gaddis pitched the eighth inning and surrendered a solo homer to All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman. Herrin (who was recalled on Monday to take Clase’s spot on the active roster) entered for Smith in the ninth, with Cleveland trailing 6-5. The lefty surrendered a sac fly and an RBI double, though neither run was attributed to him.

Monday’s outing aside, the Guardians’ confidence in Smith remains high.

“He's thrown in the ninth multiple times already in his career,” Vogt said. “It happens. These things happen. I still have full confidence in Cade and all of our guys.”