Guardians held to one hit against Cardinals, suffer second straight shutout loss

CLEVELAND — When a pitcher has no-hit stuff and he's facing an inept offensive lineup, the outcome is almost expected. St. Louis right-hander Sonny Gray was masterful during a one-hit shutout in the Cardinals' 5-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians before a sold-out Progressive Field on Friday night. The 35-year-old veteran improved to 8-2 and struck out a season-high 11 batters, including six in a row. The Guardians have managed just three hits while being shut out in back-to-back games. What's further disheartening is that they've committed six errors over that span. After the game, they staged a players-only meeting. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt disagreed with the notion that things are unraveling, even though his team has plummeted to 9½ games behind the Central Division-leading Detroit Tigers. "We're a game or two out of a wild card spot," Vogt said. "We have to play all 162 games. June has not been kind to us. I still have the utmost confidence in our team." The Guardians manager said Gray — an All-Star teammate of his in Oakland in 2015 — had all six of his pitches working to perfection. "The only pitch in the strike zone was the one that Nolan (Jones) hit," Vogt said. "His command was outstanding." Gray was simply dominating. He recorded his 20th career double-digit strikeout game, including three this season. It was his 20th career start against Cleveland, the most against any opponent in his career. Gray improved to 7-5 in his career vs. the Guardians. He threw 89 pitches, 66 for strikes and didn't walk a batter in his first complete game of the season. The Guardians were unable to muster any kind of attack versus Gray, who allowed a two-out, line-drive single in the fifth inning by Jones. Guardians right-hander Luis Ortiz (4-9) has been a hard-luck pitcher this season at Progressive Field. He has received just 1.64 runs of support per nine innings at home, the third-lowest mark in the majors, coming into Friday's game. He dropped to 1-5 at Progressive Field this season. The 26-year-old from the Dominican Republic can't blame the defeat on a lack of run support Friday. The flame thrower came unhinged in the third inning when he allowed two home runs, including a two-out, two-run shot by Cardinals right fielder Alec Burleson. Catcher Pedro Pages led off the inning with a 381-foot clout onto the left-field porch for his sixth home run of the season. Burleson's 10th homer traveled an estimated 359 feet into the right-field stands. Suddenly, it was 3-0, a steep hill to climb for the Guardians' pop-gun attack. Three players in the lineup batted below .174, not a good thing when facing a pitcher of the caliber of Gray. Cleveland played without All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez, who was sidelined with a bruised right wrist. Ortiz pitched seven innings and allowed six hits, four runs and one walk while striking out five. "He was outstanding," Vogt said. "He made two mistakes in the third (inning). Seven innings is a great performance." Ortiz said through an interpreter that he felt good on the mound and got into a rhythm after the third inning. "I felt a little tight," he said. "We have to have fun." That's part of their problem now, Vogt said. "This is stressful on all of us," he said. "We need to score more runs. We need better at-bats. Everyone is trying to be perfect. The mistakes we're making are mental. We have to slow down and remember that we're a really good baseball team. "We're just not clicking. We're right there." Vogt said Gray had a two-hit shutout in Cleveland in 2015. "I liked that one better," he deadpanned. Contact Bob Finnan at (440) 329-7135 or rfinnan30@gmail.com.