That was a wild and crazy, frustrating and entertaining game.

Nearly everyone pitched in offensively:
Fry with the game winning double
Brennan with an earlier go ahead single
Josh N with 2 hits and 2 walks
Kwan with a single and double
Jose with 2 hits and an RBI
Calhoun rbi double and sac fly
Giminez double and single and rbi

Lesser degree:
Straw single and rbi
Bo a walk before he left with a jammed thumb

And not at all:
Arias of course. For him this at bat has to considered a major success: ground out moved man from 2nd to 3rd.

I guess the fans that stayed for the entire game were treated to a happy ending. The back and forth the entire game was very entertaining for baseball fans.

It's never over til it's over.

and Saturday night was great for fans of good pitching and fireworks

It's very nice to see McKenzie back on the mound. I think we all had good reason to think he was ready for a really top notch season. A couple of starts at the end of September can help work off some of the rust. I see he throw 8 strikes of 18 pitches in the first inning. the best of McKenzie plus Bibee and Williams would be on of a tough rotation, and if Bieber returns all the better.

he's now at 30 pitches, 11 strikes and has walked of the 3 he's faced in the 2nd.
Curry pitched 3 innings yesterday. There's not really a "longman" in the pen among the 14 pitches on the current roster.

a double brings in a run. He's nearing 40 pitches; I think his limit is about 65 so we'll need a good 6 innings of relief. Morgan will be needed for 3 innings and then everyone else one.
Or perhaps more will be needed. Another walk and with the pitch count moving into the 40s.
Rutschman batting, let's hope we get out of the 2nd inning still in contention.

and another walk and the bases are loaded and heading toward 50 pitches.

and another walk 3-0 52 pitches, 19 were strikes and he's out of there.
Didnt' clear off too much rest in that performance: 6 walks, 1 double, 5 outs.

Trevor Stephan closed it out today very efficiently with a 3 batter 14 pitch inning. Of course he closed out a 5-1 loss but it was the low pressure work he needed.

At the game upstairs behind home plate.
McKenzie was missing high the entire time. We might have gotten out of that 3 run inning if not for 2 critical check swings going against us. Our offense, other than Jose, looked like they all are ready to go home.
5-6 games left, I'll be surprised if we win 2.

is there's one predictable thing about this team is that is unpredictable. Won 3 from Texas. Lost 3 to Kansas City. Clubbed out 9 runs one day, 1 hit another day.

Giolito was back to his standard game tonight, lots of homers, lots of walks.
and since he left, organ allowed 2 on no hits
Karinchak 1 on 2 hits
Sandlin one yet another homer --- 12 in 57 innings; viewed from a hitter's perspective 222 at bats 12 homers. Pretty impressive slugger.

Offense has produced 7 runs including 10th homer by Bo in less than 200 at bats; Josh's 96th RBI; Calhoun 2 run homer; red hot Gimenez double and homer.

Last time we'll have to watch Giolito as a Guardian. Somehow he pitched one gem, 7 shutout innings. For his other 5 starts he had a combined ERA of over 11.

Lots of storylines as Guardians and A’s announce lineups for Game 1 on March 28, 2024

Published: Mar. 28, 2024, 7:11 p.m.

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

OAKLAND-- It’s opening night at Oakland Coliseum as the season beckons to the Guardians and A’s.

How will Shane Bieber do in his fifth consecutive opening day start for Cleveland? It could easily be Bieber’s last opening-day assignment because he’s a free agent at the end of the year and a logical trade candidate.

This will be Stephen Vogt’s first regular season game as Cleveland’s manager. The team he’ll be trying to beat is the one where he had his greatest success as a player. A’s fans adopted him and he adopted them.

Then there are the A’s. Like Bieber this could be their last opening day in Oakland. A deal is in place for them to move to Las Vegas and play in a $1.1 billion deal in 2028.

Security was high around the ballpark before the opener in case of a fan protest.

Game 1

Time: 10:07 p.m.
Where: Oakland Coliseum.
TV/radio: Bally Sports Great Lakes and WTAM will carry the game.
Teams (last year’s records): Guardians (76-86) vs. A’s (50-112).

Starting pitchers (last year’s records):

RHP Shane Bieber (6-6, 3.80) vs. LHP Alex Wood (5-5, 4.33).

Guardians

LF Steven Kwan.
3B Jose Ramirez.
RF Ramon Laureano.
1B Josh Naylor.
DH David Fry.
CF Tyler Freeman.
2B Andres Gimenez.
C Austin Hedges.
SS Brayan Rocchio.

Athletics

1B Ryan Noda.
2B Zack Geloff.
CF JJ Bieday.
DH Brent Rooker.
LF Seth Brown.
3B J.D. Davis.
C Shea Langeliers.
RF Lawrence Butler.
SS Nick Allen.

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Bieber with 6k's through 2 innings