Reyes’ turnaround makes Guardians ‘a different team’
Franmil Reyes might have missed the invite, but he has seemingly joined the party.
Entering Thursday's game, Reyes was hitting .157 with a .195 on-base percentage and three times as many strikeouts (39) as hits (13). That night, he said he had received phone calls from Vladimir Guerrero Sr. and David Ortiz, two Hallof-fame sluggers. He also noted Cleveland's hitting instructors were working with him on choking up, simplifying things and “taking the single.”
In the next six games, he hit .522 (12for-23) one home run, one double and five RBIS. That stretch includes Sunday's 3-for-4 performance in the Guardians' 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, which brought Cleveland's record back to .500 at 14-14.
“It's very exciting to be back feeling myself, back into play,” Reyes said. “It's huge for me and for the team, and they make sure that they let me know that. Like every time I do something special for the team, it's a very good feeling. They let me know like they're happy for me.”
Reyes' approach has undergone a clear change in the past week. He pulled a home run to left field on Saturday, but he's also poked a few singles to right field in an effort to not try to do too much. He drew a walk in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader off of Kevin Gausman, who hadn't issued a base on balls the entire season.
“It'll be fun watching because we needed to get him going,” said manager Terry Francona. “We said that when he wasn't [hitting as well]. Now that he is, we can be a different team.”
While Reyes struggled through the first 20 games, others made up for the lack of production, including Owen Miller, rookie Steven Kwan (American League Rookie of the Month), Andres Gimenez, Myles Straw and Jose Ramirez (AL Player of the Month).
With those contributions, the Guardians' lineup was impressive. As of Sunday night, Cleveland had scored the fourth-most runs in baseball (132), behind only the Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets; and all three of those teams had played one or two more games than Cleveland.
The Guardians also were tied for the highest average in baseball (.257) with the Colorado Rockies, who get to play their home games in a hitters' paradise.
A productive order now adding a streaking Reyes raises the daily ceiling even more. As they hover around .500, hoping to track down the division-leading Minnesota Twins, Reyes remains a key to it all.