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I've always said that when you put the ball in play, good things can happen. Evidence today's winning effort in the 10th inning. Strikeouts are 100% non-productive. With all the top quality pitching around the league, contact becomes even more important.Even though the Guardians are the youngest team in baseball, they have found a way to avoid striking out. They have the least amount of strikeouts in baseball with 702 heading into Sunday's game against the Rays. This comes out to a strikeout percentage of 18.6 percent.
A big part of this has to do with Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez being two of the most disciplined batters in the league. Kwan has the lowest strikeout percentage in baseball with 8.5 percent and Ramirez has the third lowest with 9.6 percent.
Having these two players at the top of your lineup is going to put a massive strain on opposing pitchers. They are either going to get on base or work the count up.
A lot of people around baseball have been asking how the Guardians have been able to stay in postseason contention despite being so young. Well, there's your answer. They give themselves a chance by not striking out and putting pressure on the defense to make plays.
*“José is probably the only player in baseball that ends up on third with that ball,” Francona said. “He got that coming out of the box and he had the wherewithal knowing he could get to third. That was pretty remarkable.”
*The Guardians have preached all season that Ramírez needs to be the player who sets the example of doing all the little things correctly. Nearly every time he has the opportunity to make the slightest bit of a difference, especially on the bases, he capitalizes.
“We know how good a player he is,” Gonzalez said via interpreter Agustin Rivero. “He's a good example to follow, and he always tells me to play hard because you never know what can happen.”
With no one out and Ramírez on third, Gonzalez just needed to put the ball in play. He made weak contact on a 1-2 curveball from Jameson Taillon (58.9 mph exit velocity) that found grass in shallow right field, easily scoring Ramírez to give Cleveland the lead. After Gonzalez’s walk-off homer in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series last weekend, his two go-ahead hits are tied with Bert Campaneris (1973) for the second most in a single postseason, trailing just David Ortiz (three) in 2004.
“It’s gonna be a phenomenal weekend,” Guardians starter Shane Bieber said. “I’m excited to feel the energy and go out there and play our game.”
