Guardians plan to shuffle lineup in series finale vs. Rockies

Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt liked how his offense performed in the team's 9-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night, so he used the same lineup on Saturday night.

It paid off as the Guardians recorded their third straight win with a 4-3 decision.

Vogt's lineup will be different when Cleveland goes for a sweep of its three-game series against Colorado on Sunday afternoon in Denver.

The Guardians will send left-hander Foster Griffin (14-4, 3.18 ERA) to the mound against Rockies right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano (12-6, 4.70).

Griffin will make his fourth start since being acquired from Washington three weeks ago. Griffin, who is 2-1 with a 4.20 ERA for Cleveland, will face Colorado for the first time in his career.

The altitude in Denver tends to take a toll on visiting teams. Playing three straight games in the spacious outfield at Coors Field as well as chasing short fly balls just beyond the infield wears down players. So Vogt won't use the same nine players for the series finale.

"It kind of felt right to just roll the same lineup back out there (Saturday)," he said. "It honestly had more to do with just, ‘Let's keep that same lineup out there.'

"(Sunday) is a day game; it'll look very different."

Chances are that rookie Travis Bazzana will be in Cleveland's lineup. He had the second four-hit game of his career on Friday and singled Saturday night. He is batting .242 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs since his major league debut in late April.

Bazzana, 23, has dealt with ups and downs and is using those times to get better.

"It's a lot of learning experiences," he said. "Sometimes I felt like I was trying too hard when it started to trend downwards. I'm sticking with it, and hopefully I can keep moving forward."

The Rockies have been scuffling since returning from a 5-4 road trip, losing five games in a row. Colorado has lost eight straight at home and hopes Sugano can send the team back on the road Monday with some momentum.

He has been the Rockies' best starter this season but was roughed up for seven runs (six earned) over five innings in an 11-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday.

Sugano is the first Colorado pitcher to win 12 games since German Marquez in 2021. Sugano has been consistent, tossing at least five innings in 19 of his 22 starts this season and giving manager Warren Schaeffer a reliable arm in the rotation.

"Tomo has been great," Schaeffer said recently. "He's a professional. He knows how to avoid big innings. He prepares. I feel like I say the same thing all the time, but you love when he takes the ball. He puts the ball where he wants to and gives us six innings on a consistent basis."

Sunday will mark Sugano's third career start against Cleveland. In the previous two outings, which were last year while he was pitching for Baltimore, he was 1-0 with a 4.22 ERA.

--Field Level Media