Cleveland will play the second game of its three-game series at Washington on Saturday afternoon. The Guardians lost the final two games of their series against the Yankees earlier this week, while Washington dropped its last two games against the Angels. This story was published prior to Friday night’s series opener.
Cleveland got off to a hot start this season when it won four of its first five games, but it has been struggling with consistency since then. The Guardians lost five of their next eight games heading into Friday night’s series opener in Washington—this story was published prior to that game. They were blown out by the Yankees in an 11-2 final on Tuesday before coming up short in a 4-3 decision on Wednesday. The Guardians rank No. 24 in the majors in team batting average (.235) and are facing a Washington pitching staff that is No. 22 in team ERA (4.94).
An @Amed_Rosario home run means @DaveyTree will plant another tree in Cleveland! pic.twitter.com/W7PbDjN7W0
— CLE Inspires (@CLEInspires) April 12, 2023
Second baseman Andres Gimenez leads Cleveland with a .308 batting average and five RBI. Right-handed pitcher Zach Plesac is expected to start for Cleveland on Saturday afternoon. He had a disastrous performance in his first outing of the season, allowing six earned runs on seven hits in just one inning against Oakland. Plesac was significantly better in his second start, giving up two earned runs on five hits in seven strong innings against Seattle last Sunday. He did not factor into the decision, striking out six batters. The 28-year-old struggled to a 3-12 record with a 4.31 ERA in 24 starts last season.