Wednesday, September 10

Welcome back to the Guardians Beat newsletter. My name is Tim Stebbins, and this is my first season covering Cleveland for MLB.com.

CLEVELAND -- Slade Cecconi came to the set position in the first inning on Monday and paused, staring in toward Maikel Garcia. Ahead 1-2 in the count, the Guardians right-hander snapped off an offering that appeared to be headed toward the top of the strike zone.

The pitch -- a 78.8 mph curveball -- instead dove toward the bottom of the zone. Garcia whiffed at it for strike three.

As Cecconi carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning, his curveball was a key wrinkle to his dominant performance against Kansas City. Of his 100 pitches, he threw it 30 times -- marking his highest usage in both percentage and total thrown in a single outing this season.

The Royals recorded just a 73.0 mph average exit velocity and zero hits against Cecconi's curve.

“It’s incredible to me to watch him. With how big and slow it is, it still has teeth,” manager Stephen Vogt said of Cecconi’s curveball. “It’s still sharp coming down, and that’s what he was missing there for that month. It just wasn’t sharp. It’s not an easy pitch to throw, and he executed it really well [Monday]."

Cecconi had a strong first half after he joined the Guardians’ starting rotation on May 17. In 10 starts before the All-Star break, he recorded a 3.44 ERA over 55 innings. His second half has been more of a mixed bag. In his first nine starts (entering Monday), Cecconi recorded a 6.19 ERA across 52 1/3 innings -- that included a 6.31 ERA in 25 2/3 innings over five August starts. 

The Guardians believe Cecconi has been at his best when he has his curveball and slider to complement his four-seam fastball. Those are his primary three offerings, and his spin pitches help keep opponents from sitting on his heater. Consider how his curveball fared over the previous two months:

July (16.6 percent usage): .120 BA, .204 xBA, .280 SLG, .355 xSLG
August (10.9 percent): .143 BA, .294 xBA, .214 SLG, .503 xSLG

Even beyond the past two months, Cecconi’s curveball has been a reliable offering all season. Opponents have hit .118 against it with a .224 slugging percentage and a 30.4 percent strikeout rate. It has averaged 75.2 mph, which was below the league average of 79.6 mph (entering Tuesday). Its vertical drop was 1.6 inches greater than other curveballs thrown at similar velocities and release points.

“Not a lot of people in the league throw a curveball like I throw it,” Cecconi said. “It’s bigger, it's slower. It really complements my fastball. They have almost the exact opposite movement patterns. It's probably the best tunnel for a pitch that I have, and it's a pitch that we've talked about really working into the game plan.”

Cecconi has thrown his curveball far more against lefties (207 offerings) than righties (71) this season; Kansas City had seven left-handed hitters in its starting lineup on Monday, hence why he leaned into it as much as he did. But given how effective it is, he noted he wants to throw it more to right-handers going forward.

“It kind of worked out well that I had the best command of it tonight that I've had all season,” Cecconi said. “When you pair that with the strategy of how to use it, things go well.”

Before Cecconi on Monday, who was the last Cleveland pitcher to throw eight-plus scoreless innings while allowing one or fewer hits?

A. Shane Bieber
B. Corey Kluber
C. Triston McKenzie
D. Carlos Carrasco

When the Guardians host the White Sox on Saturday, the first 15,000 fans in attendance will receive a City Connect lightweight hoodie. Sunday features a special ticket offer as the club holds University of Akron Day. Fans who purchase a theme-night ticket will receive a co-branded stainless steel tumbler. More information on theme nights can be found here, and the promotional schedule for the remaining regular season home games can be found here.

• Speaking of no-hitters, MLB.com’s Sweeny Murti takes a look back at Vin Scully’s call of Sandy Koufax’s perfect game, 60 years later. Read more >>

• With less than 20 games remaining in the regular season, here is everything you need to know on how the postseason picture is stacking up. Read more >>

“I feel like it kind of locks you in even more. I would be lying if I said there's not times where you kind of -- not daydream, but you aren't as locked in as you want to be. When a guy's balling like that, every play, it's like, ‘I could be the one who either saves it or blows it.’ So you stay locked in. You definitely love it when you're out there and you see a guy balling like that.” -- Steven Kwan on what it’s like as a fielder knowing a pitcher has a no-hitter going deep into a game

C. McKenzie

McKenzie allowed one hit over eight innings vs. the Tigers on Aug. 15, 2021. The right-hander allowed a base hit to Harold Castro after he threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings.

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