Tanner Bibee Receives Little Run Support Yet Again, Guardians Can't Topple Twins

It was a night that wouldn't end.

But even though the Cleveland Guardians weren't able to sneak out a win on Saturday, May 9, it wasn't because Tanner Bibee didn't do his job.

When the Guardians hosted the Minnesota Twins for the second outing of a three-game set, a matchup delayed by over two hours due to weather, Bibee looked excellent on the mound.

He produced a nine-strikeout performance, allowing just one hit and two walks. His lone hit allowed was a solo shot to begin the game off the barrel of Byron Buxton. But after that, he was locked in and sending batters down left and right. He finished the game with a near-career best mark of 20 whiffs, fooling the Twins numerous times.

And although he didn't get much run support, the 27-year-old was able to keep his head high after the loss yet again. The final score favored the away side, 2-1, with the winning run being scored in the 11th inning.

"I feel like it's completely independent," Bibee said about the inability of the Guardians to pull out wins lately when he is starting. "I mean, I go out there, and I throw up zeros and go as deep into the game and do stuff as much as I can. It's like I'm playing a very different sport than a lot of the hitters. So it's just what we do is very, it's like we coexist, but it's very different. So I feel like it's just, it's what it is. It's just baseball sometimes."

His performance on the mound was good enough to drop his season ERA down to a 4.17, while his WHIP and batting average against dipped to 1.35 and .246. Across nine starts, he has been doing his job well; the Guardians' bats have just been streaky with him on the rubber.

He has maintained good command, too, recently, something that had been shaky at the beginning of the year.

"I feel like you learn a lot about yourself," Bibee said when reflecting. "I feel like for me, it was what's my strengths, what's my weaknesses, why what I do can be good, why certain pitches are good in certain spots, and I feel like just the more reps you get, obviously the hitter can tell you too.

"...So it's just one of those things where you kind of learn throughout. I mean, the league is like a big pendulum. Like it's going to swing one way, people are going to adjust, so you swing the other way. It just keeps going and going and going, no matter how long you're in it for."

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt has been heavily complimentary about his ace this season, with him continuing that trend in the postgame interview room on Saturday.

"Tanner was great. Really dialed, good stuff, making great pitches all night. Never got in trouble," Vogt said. "Bux [Byron Buxton] made a really good pitch out for a homer, first at-bat. But I thought it was as good of a mix as we've seen with Tanner. Execution was phenomenal. It was really good."

Leaving over 12 players on the bases when all is said and done isn't going to be a recipe for success, but getting another good outing from Bibee is a sign that when the bats get going, these are games that the Guardians are going to be able to win.

With Saturday's outing coming to a close just before midnight, the two sides won't have much time to regroup. They'll be right back in action on Sunday at 1:40 p.m. EST for a Mother's Day showing.

The Guardians will look to complete a series sweep for the first time this season.

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