Tanner Bibee's winless start to season continues as bullpen can't hold lead in loss to Red Sox

CLEVELAND — Tanner Bibee's nightmarish season continued Sunday in the Guardians' 9-4 defeat to the Boston Red Sox before 28,798 at Progressive Field. The veteran right-hander became the first pitcher in franchise history to go winless in his first 13 starts of the season. Bibee (0-7) got a no-decision but left after six innings in position to snap the drought. He was the fourth Cleveland pitcher in the expansion era to have not earned a winning decision through their first 12 starts, joining Sam Hentges (2021), Rick Waits (1982) and Sam McDowell (1962). "Wins and losses don't mean anything," catcher Austin Hedges said, regarding the evaluation of a starting pitcher. Cleveland is 2-11 when Bibee starts this season. "I've had two bad outings," he said. "Other than that, I've thrown it well. I've still got to stay the course. "I have no control over (my record). I've got to go out and throw zeros." He wasn't throwing blanks Sunday, as the first batter he faced — center fielder Jarren Duran — clubbed his fifth pitch of the game deep into the right-field seats. Then he settled down and exited the game with the lead for the first time this year. Duran blasted his 10th homer of the season and 11th career leadoff bomb. Bibee has surrendered six home runs in the last two games, 13 on the season. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said before the game he wasn't concerned with Bibee's record. "The one thing we know about Tanner is he's a relentless competitor, he cares deeply and he puts in a ton of work," he said. "I think as we look forward, we'll start to see more of those outings in which he's pitching more effectively than maybe some of those other hiccups." Manager Stephen Vogt said Bibee's change-up was highly effective. "That was as good as he's looked in awhile," he said. "He was excellent." Bibee allowed six hits and three earned runs in six innings. He struck out three batters in 90 pitches, 62 for strikes. The last-place Red Sox erupted for six runs in the seventh inning off three Cleveland relievers. Colin Holderman (3-1) suffered the loss in one-third of an inning. In the crucial seventh, the relievers walked four batters and three of them came around to score. Cleveland was one strike from getting out of the inning and preserving its 4-3 advantage. However, on a borderline pitch, left-hander Tim Herrin walked Wilyer Abreau to force in the tying run and open the floodgates. Cleveland had exhausted its ability to challenge a pitch in the previous inning. "It's frustrating," Hedges said. "It's on us. We shouldn't have lost our challenges." He wouldn't say the pitch was a strike but did say, "There's data (supporting) it." Herrin said he put himself in a bad position with his wildness. "Sometimes (with) those 50-50 calls, if you leave it up to the ump, yeah, it's frustrating," he said. Masataka Yoshida followed Abreu's walk with a two-run, go-ahead single. The Guardians jumped on starter Ranger Suarez for two runs in the second inning, both scoring on Hedges' single. It came on a day the club gave away his No. 27 jersey to the first 15,000 fans. The Red Sox fought back to take a 3-2 lead in the fifth on Mickey Gasper's sacrifice fly and Abreu's run-scoring single. Cleveland rallied for two runs in the fifth in the back-and-forth game. Brayan Rocchio doubled to lead off the inning and scored on Jose Ramirez's double that Yoshida totally misplayed. The left fielder charged the ball and it fell 20 feet behind him. Ramirez came home on Chase DeLauter's single for a short-lived 4-3 advantage. Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy left Suarez in the game after the Guardians loaded the bases with one out. The left-hander struck out Kyle Manzardo and Stuart Fairchild to escape further trouble. DeLauter and David Fry each had three hits for the Guardians. Left-hander Jovani Moran (1-2) earned the victory with 1 1/3 innings of relief. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com.