The rookie rotation, Brayan Rocchio, and Jose Tena keep the Cleveland Guardians in the playoff picture after splitting a four-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays.
It may not have been pretty throughout the series, but the Cleveland Guardians managed to split the series with the playoff-budding Toronto Blue Jays. A lot of the success Cleveland had in the series came from their rookies who are proving themselves in the Big Leagues.
Let's start with the rotation.
Cleveland's pitchers were nothing short of fantastic in this series. Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, and Logan Allen combined to pitch 19.0 innings, struck out 21 batters, walked four, and gave up just a single run on a solo home run by George Springer off Allen.
This impressive three-game stretch is something that the Cleveland franchise hasn't seen since 1916. Whatever happens the rest of this season, Guardians can't once again count on having one of the best rotations in baseball for years to come.
The offense wasn't great for either side during the four-game stretch. The two lineups combined to score six runs through the first three games including back-to-back 1-0 games.
Finally, the bats woke up in the finale. The production the Guardians saw wasn't from the savvy veterans the team recently picked up. Instead, it was the player making his first Major League start and a prospect who's only played 12 MLB games.
Yes, I'm talking about Jose Tena and Brayan Rocchio.
Terry Francona started Tena at shortstop for the first time in his young career. He really made an impact at the plate though picking up his first hit and RBI in the same swing. Tena finished the game by going 2-for-3 including a double.
Rocchio has seen much more playing time over the last week due to injuries and part of the post-trade deadline Guardians. He hasn't disappointed the team either. The young infielder had a pair of RBI doubles in the final game of the series which ended up being the difference maker.
It's been a small sample size for both players. However, as long as they keep performing it'll be hard to keep them out of the lineup.
The front office has clearly committed to evaluating their young talent for the rest of the year. But that doesn't mean that's a wrap on the season. The rookies helped Cleveland split the series and now they sit just 3.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins for the division lead with over a month of baseball to play.
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Photo Credit © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
