Three Positives From the Week of March 31st

As the Guardians open the 2024 season at home under the darkness of an eclipsed sun, let’s take a look back into the positive moments from this week.

Best Record in Baseball

As of Sunday, April 7th, the Cleveland Guardians were tied for the best record in Major League Baseball. Now, we are only nine games into this 162-game season, but a .778 winning percentage is pretty remarkable for a team that wasn’t expected to make any noise this year. Sitting one game atop the Detroit Tigers, the Guardians are sitting pretty ahead of Monday’s home opener.

With a three-game set against the White Sox to start the week, Cleveland has the chance to improve to a 10-2 record before facing the red-hot New York Yankees at home. New York will be a tough opponent, but this young team has made it clear that they’re ready for any competition.

Triston McKenzie to Open at Home

With the terrible news of Shane Bieber’s UCL reconstruction announced Saturday morning, there was much confusion about who would start Monday’s home opener. It was originally announced that Logan Allen would get the honor as that was how the rotation had set him up. However, after Sunday’s game in Minnesota was postponed due to weather, the team announced that Triston McKenzie would take his spot.

Returning from the 60-day Injured List in late September of last year, Triston has had a bumpy road to a healthy 2024. He understanably had a rough first start on April 1st, giving up five runs on four hits across 3.1 innings. He’s looking to bounce back with a strong outing on Monday, and I’ve got full confidence that he can.

Every Day is Fry-Day

Whether he’s playing catcher, first base, third base, or outfield, David Fry is quickly finding his stride offensively. He’s already collected five hits and 6 RBI in just 11 at-bats. He made the difference in the game against the Twins on Saturday when he hit a towering 424 foot three-run home run to left field.

The bullpen was able to hold the score at 3-1 which earned the victory for Cleveland. Fry’s home run made all the difference and his .455/.529/.818 line is certainly an impressive one to start the season.