'I know guys are excited to move forward': Guardians ace Shane Bieber remains optimistic

The Guardians are still a work in progress this season.

And so is ace right-hander Shane Bieber, who took the loss Sunday when the Detroit Tigers earned a 4-2 win at Progressive Field.

Bieber (1-3) compiled an encouraging outing with a season-high 10 strikeouts in seven innings. He allowed six hits and three runs, two of them earned, and once again the Guardians' offense was inconsistent.

Bieber, the 2019 All-Star Game MVP and 2020 AL Cy Young winner, has not earned a win since April 20 against the Chicago White Sox, six starts ago. The Guardians are 4-4 in his starts in 2022, and took a 17-20 overall record into Monday's game at Houston.

"I feel like I rely on rhythm a lot and I wasn't able to find that early," Bieber said. "I kind of have been struggling to find that at this point in the beginning of the season. I felt like I had to get myself under control and start to get ahead of hitters because when you start at-bats off 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, you are at a serious disadvantage. I was able to fall into a rhythm and start getting ahead of guys. That is where I saw myself being a lot more efficient."

Sunday was Bieber's sixth consecutive start against the Tigers in which he had 10 or more strikeouts, tying the record originally set by Nolan Ryan from 1976 to 1979.

Bieber also became the fourth Cleveland pitcher since 1901 to have 22 career games with 10 or more strikeouts before turning 27-years-old, joining Sam McDowell, Bob Feller and Herb Score.

Regardless of those feats, Bieber wasn't happy with the two walks he allowed.

"I am frustrated with myself," Bieber said. "The first two runs were because of self-induced walks. That needs to not happen. It is frustrating and it ended up in a team loss. It is what it is and you have to take the good with the bad and move forward."

Bieber said he had a conversation with catcher Austin Hedges during the game about his control.

“I said: 'Enough is enough. No matter what the philosophy is or the action of the pitch, I need to get ahead of hitters and put myself in a better situation to succeed and then obviously that puts the team in a better position,'" Bieber said.

According to MLB.com, Bieber's average four-seam fastball velocity was 90.4 miler per hour on Sunday, 2.4 miles per hour below his average in 2021 and nearly four full ticks from his average during his Cy Young season in 2020.

Beiber’s slower fastball could be a result of his recovery from last season’s shoulder issues, a shortened spring training this season following the lockout or something else.

“We've all had our hindrances at the beginning of the season, and that comes from a bunch of things and different situations for different guys, but I feel like everybody is getting more comfortable,” Bieber said. “I know the last couple of weeks have been kind of difficult, not being on a consistent five-day routine and having to wait a little bit longer [because of rainouts and a COVID-19 situation within the team]. I know guys are excited to move forward, and like I said, take the good with the bad and the progress and keep the momentum moving forward.

"... Baseball is difficult, but I will say that we are never out of a ballgame."

Guardians manager Terry Francona was pleased with Bieber's effort Sunday.

"I thought early on, command was a challenge for him and he kind of throttled back a little bit and then became way more efficient," Francona said. "He is such a good pitcher. He gave up a couple early and then we didn't finish a play late for another run, but other than that he is a pretty good pitcher. You are probably going to see better days ahead as he starts to feel good about himself."

Francona said he is aware of Bieber's velocity decline, but he is not fixated on it.

“Guys pitch with what they have,” Francona said. “That is the mentality we take. If velocity ticks up or ticks down over the course of season, you have to pitch with where you are at. I think Biebs has a great understanding of that.”

Welcome back, Josh Naylor

Welcome back, Josh Naylor

Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor returned to the lineup following a bout with COVID-19.

Naylor hit a home run in the fourth off of Alex Faedo and made an error in the fifth on a sharply hit grounder by Robbie Grossman that allowed Tucker Barnhart to score.

Faedo (1-1) allowed two runs in 5⅓ innings for his first major league win. Miguel Cabrera and Javier Báez paced the Tigers offense, with an RBI double in the first and a solo home run in the eighth, respectively.

"We play a lot of close games," Francona said. "We had three balls today [hit really well that resulted in outs]. They bring one back [when Tigers center fielder Daz Cameron jumped against the wall to catch a long drive by Amed Rosario with a runner on base]. That's two [runs]. Franmil [Reyes] hits two that could be six [runs]. It wasn't. There are going to be ups and downs. That is part of the game.

"We can be a good team. We are going to have to find the combinations where we are clean defensively. It hasn't been that easy to this point in the season. We are working on it, but I can't tell you that I can snap my fingers tomorrow and we are going to be the best defensive team at every position. That is probably not the case."

Terry Francona proud of coaches

Francona is optimistic that the Guardians can leave COVID-19 and inclement weather in the past.

Francona would prefer to focus on baseball moving forward as he returned to the dugout Sunday after missing five games due to MLB Health and Safety protocols and Friday's game after a minor medical procedure.

Francona, bench coach DeMarlo Hale, hitting coach Chris Valaika, assistant pitching coach Joe Torres, first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr., third base coach Mike Sarbaugh and major league hitting analyst Justin Toole were all sidelined with COVID-19 on May 12.

"Everybody is back," Francona said. "Saturday was our day where we got everybody back [and the game was postponed because of weather]."

Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis managed the team during the six games that the majority of the major league coaching staff was out. Staff members from the minor leagues and the front office were summoned to assist Willis, and the Guardians went 2-4.

"We have really good coaches," Francona said. "DeMarlo, Carl, Sandy, Sarby — you name it, and now we have added some younger guys into the staff, which I think is good too."

The Guardians went 1-3 on the homestand with two losses to the Cincinnati Reds (12-28) and a split with the Tigers (14-26). The Guardians topped the Tigers 6-1 on Friday.

Saturday's 6:10 p.m. game between the Guardians and Tigers was rained out more than three hours before the scheduled start due to impending storms that hit Northeast Ohio.

It was the sixth Guardians home game postponed by inclement weather this season, and a seventh, on May 11 in Chicago against the White Sox, was rescheduled after the Guardians' COVID-19 outbreak.

Saturday's game has been moved to July 14, a mutual off day for the Guardians and Tigers, with a 7:10 p.m. start. That sets up a four-game series between the clubs.

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Beaven on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Shane Bieber confident better days ahead for inconsistent Guardians