Things coming together for Guardians’ Plesac
Zach Plesac’s voice carried a tinge of hope that it is all coming together, both for him and the Cleveland Guardians rotation.
The 27-year-old right-hander may have felt like he wasn’t upholding the team’s starting pitching standard. Entering Sunday, his 4.93 ERA stood fourth among regular starters. He hadn’t recorded a road victory in four previous outings. On May 24 at Houston, he was shelled for seven runs on nine hits in 42⁄3 innings.
Two critical innings for Plesac in the Guardians’ 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles Sunday gave him confidence as he turned in his second consecutive quality start and his third of the season.
Plesac (2-4) went six innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits with no walks and eight strikeouts as the Guardians (24-25) took the three-game series and won for the fifth time in their past six games.
“I struck some guys out today, finally, been looking forward to that,” Plesac said. “Continue to keep it sharp moving forward.”
Plesac built off his no-decision on May 30 against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. In 12 innings over his past two starts, Plesac has posted a 2.25 ERA, giving up three earned runs on nine hits, walked none and struck out 13 while allowing one home run in each game.
“I just feel like I’m much more comfortable with how I’m moving,” Plesac said. “The past couple weeks I’ve just been trying to find it . ... I have a better mindset going to attack a pitch in a particular moment. It just comes down to making pitches.”
Plesac has finished with a winning record in his previous three seasons in Cleveland, notching a career-high 10 victories in 2021. His lowest ERA was 2.28 in eight games during Covidshortened 2020. He’s starting to regain his form and believes fellow members of the rotation are as well.
Shane Bieber (3-3, 3.12 ERA) looked like himself in his last start, striking out 11 Orioles in seven innings in Friday’s 6-3 victory. Triston Mckenzie (3-5, 3.75) has been the most consistent of the regular five. Cal Quantrill (2-3, 3.52) is in a similar spot as Plesac, with the Guardians scoring two or fewer runs in five of Quantrill’s nine starts. Aaron Civale (2-3, 7.84) is on the 15day disabled list.
The starters’ identity as a strong, sometimes dominant staff is now within sight.
“I think so. We’re getting to it right now,” Plesac said. “Just feeding off each other, getting to the midpoint of the season and starting to find a groove.”