ST. LOUIS — Manager Stephen Vogt gave a message to Eli Morgan after he helped clinch a spot in the playoffs for the Guardians on Thursday afgernoon against the Twins at Progressive Field.
“I told Eli that I thought it was fitting he was on the mound last in the clinching game,” said Vogt. “After what he’s been through injury wise and up and down from Triple-A this year.
“Every time he takes the ball, he gives us everything he has. He’s been throwing the ball really well the last month. I was just happy for him.”
Morgan entered the 10th inning against the Twins with the score tied, 2-2. The automatic runner was on second base and things turned complicated quickly. Morgan hit Matt Wallner with a pitch and Willie Castro advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt.
Leadoff hitter Manuel Margot worked Morgan for a walk to load the bases. Morgan, however, retired dangerous Carlos Correa on a foul pop to first. The inning ended with Byron Buxton lined out to right.
When Andres Gimenez singled home the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th for a 3-2 win, it made Morgan the winner in one of the biggest games of the year.
“Thursday was fun, but like Vogt said in his speech, we need to get back to work because there’s more to be done,” said Morgan.
Morgan (3-0, 1.64) opened the season with the Guardians, but was placed on the injured list twice with a sore right shoulder and right elbow. After he came off the injured list, he was optioned to Class AAA Columbus on July 7 and stayed there until Aug. 4.
Since his recall, Morgan has a 1.46 ERA (four earned runs in 24 2/3 innings) over his last 17 games.
Morgan is part of not only one of the best bullpens in the big leagues, but one of the deepest. Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis, Nick Sandlin and Emmanuel Clase are the arms people talk about.
But Morgan, Pedro Avila and Erik Sabrowski have pitched well in supporting roles. Avila and Sabrowski closed Friday’s 5-1 win with four scoreless innings in relief of starter Ben Lively. Sabrowski went the final 2 1/3 innings for his first big league save.
Some of the relievers who have helped the Guardians this year are no longer with the club such as Scott Barlow, Curry, Wes Parsons and Darren McCaughan. Others like Peter Strzelecki, Connor Gillispie and Anthony Gose are at Columbus. Lefty Sam Hentges is on the injured list.
“Relievers can’t throw every day,” said Vogt, referring to the pen’s depth. “We’ve had very few days where we’ve been light (in the pen) and it hasn’t worked out. On Friday we had people available, but Pedro and Erik were the freshest and they wwnt four innings to end the game without much of a threat.
“We’ve had a number of guys contribute to this bullpen. It’s not just the four guys everybody talks about.”
The Guardians took Sabrowski in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft off San Diego’s unprotected list on Dec. 8, 2021.
He missed 2018, 2019 and 2020 recovering from two Tommy John surgeries on his left elbow. The 2020 COVID-19 season also played a role in keeping him off the mound.
The Guardians recalled him on Sept. 4 and he’s pitched 10 scoreless innings. He’s struck out 13, while walking three and allowing six hits. The opposition is hitting .171 against him.
“From what I know now, after coming back from the second Tommy John surgery, I don’t think the first one went 100%,” said Sabrowksi, who made his big league debut on Sept. 4.
Sabrowski had his first Tommy John surgery in July of 2018. He returned to games in June of 2021, but he knew something was wrong. He had the second operation in October of 2021 and didn’t start pitching in games until May of 2023.
“It was quite a long recovery from the second surgery,” Sabrowski said. “It was well worth it. The training staff in Goodyear deserves a lot of praise for how I feel now.”
The Guardians have had 23 pitchers and one catcher, Austin Hedges, make relief appearances for Cleveland this year.
