Bibee sets down career-high 12 to get Guardians back on track

CLEVELAND — When the Guardians are desperate for a decent start, they’ve learned that they need to get the ball in Tanner Bibee‘s hand.

For the first time in his career, Bibee turned in back-to-back starts with at least 10 strikeouts, as he mowed down Seattle in the Guardians’ 8-0 victory over the Mariners on Wednesday night at Progressive Field. The win prevented the Guardians from experiencing their first four-game losing streak of the season. They join the Yankees, Orioles, Brewers and Phillies as the five teams who have yet to do so.

“[Bibee] gave us six solid innings,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Allowed us to not have to stretch the ‘pen even thinner. Good rebound game for us from last night.”

Last time out in Cincinnati, Bibee was on the verge of having one of his best starts of the year. He had fanned 11 batters while giving up just one run, until a three-run homer on his final pitch of the night left a sour taste in his mouth. This time, he finished the job. In six innings on Wednesday, Bibee gave up just three hits, struck out a career-high 12 batters, issued one walk and turned in his third scoreless start of the season.

“Cutter, slider, slurve, I think were all doing really good and it really, really helped for sure,” Bibee said. “Really kind of got ’em off the heater and then towards the end, kind of flip flopped it and didn’t really feel like they knew what was coming.”

Bibee certainly kept hitters off balance. He threw 93 pitches and induced 42 swings. Of those swings, 20 were whiffs, which is tied for the second-most whiffs in an outing in Bibee’s career (also on May 25 this year; 22 whiffs on July 22 last year).

“It’s extremely rare, but it’s a fun night to catch,” Vogt said. “When you have an elite pitcher with all of his pitches working, it kind of feels like you’re playing video games.”

This performance couldn’t have come at a better time for the Guardians. Over their three previous contests, their starting pitchers owned a collective 10.32 ERA, allowing 13 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings. A third-inning departure for Triston McKenzie on Tuesday prompted six relievers to be deployed out of the bullpen.

“Big-time pitchers step up when the pen’s light,” Vogt said. “And that’s exactly what Tanner did tonight.”

The bullpen needed a starter who could eat up innings and the Guardians needed a pitcher who could quiet the Mariners offense to give their bats a chance to get them back in the win column. Bibee did just that and is doing it more consistently as the season progresses.

“[Earlier in the year] as soon as he’d get ahead he’d try to be perfect in the mid count,” Vogt said. “And before you know it, it’s 3-2, couple foul balls and it’s a seven-pitch at-bat. I feel like now it’s three, four pitches and they’re out of there. That’s how you go deep into games and I think he’s learning that more and more and attacking the zone.”

The rest of the rotation seems to be working through some inconsistencies, so Bibee’s dominance has become crucial. The Guardians are waiting for Gavin Williams, who’s set to make his next rehab start on Friday in Akron, to join the Major League rotation, but it’s hard to know what to expect from a hurler who has yet to pitch this year. And with Shane Bieber on the sidelines for the rest of the season, it’s Bibee who’s stepped into the ace role.

An ace doesn’t always have his best stuff. He also doesn’t always have scoreless starts. But an ace always finds ways to put his team in a position to win and that’s exactly what Bibee has done this year. Cleveland has won 12 of the 15 games he’s started this season.

“I love having that guy on my team, being able to be the guy to go out there and be the battery,” Guardians catcher Bo Naylor said. “The way that his pitches have been working, the way that he changes shapes, gives different looks. I feel like it proves why he went out and got six today.”