CLEVELAND — The Guardians were shut out for the third straight game Monday night, and frustrations boiled over in Cleveland’s dugout during the 9-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
It’s the first time the Guardians have been blanked three straight times since 1991. That team lost 105 games.
“Everyone’s frustrated,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “We need to hit. We need to score more runs. We need to get things going on offense, and we’re all aware of it. We’re all working through it, and it’s going to take all of us individually doing our best.”
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Cleveland, which managed just two singles against the Rays, has been blanked for 28 consecutive innings. The Guardians last scored in the eighth inning of Friday’s 4-3 loss to the Texas Rangers.
Texas then went on to win the next two games by a combined 15-0.
Cleveland was making a run at an American League wild-card spot before what is now a six-game losing streak. The Guardians (64-66) still have an outside shot; they were five games out before facing Tampa Bay.
Their skid could have contributed to a confrontation in the fourth inning when starting pitcher Tanner Bibee entered the dugout yelling, though he didn’t appear to direct it at any particular person. Vogt approached Bibee, but the pitcher looked at him and then walked away.
“Tanner is one of the most emotional, fiery people I’ve ever been around,” Vogt said. “He came in trying to pump the boys up and I told him, ‘Not now, take it downstairs.’ We’ve already talked. We’re good. It’s one of those fiery moments that happens in competition in a long season. … We know the competitive fire is what drives him.”
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