Travis Bazzana delivers RBI triple in loss

Bazzana has started only three of the Guardians’ last six games, but he’s come up big in all of those and in his one appearance off the bench during the span. Over the four games, he’s collected two homers, two doubles, three singles and eight RBI, all in Cleveland victories. He’s back up to .244/.345/.387 for the season. It’s unclear if that will win him back any time against lefties, but it doesn’t matter for the near future; the Guardians aren’t slated to face any southpaws over the next week.

Talk about taking over a game. Down two in the eighth, Bazzana socked a two-run shot to tie the game up. Then in the 10th, he laced a game-winning single to give the Guardians their second walk-off hit of the day during their double-header sweep against the Tigers. Funny enough, Bazzana didn’t even start this game with a left-handed pitcher on the mound, but came in when Chase DeLauter left with an injury. He’s had a rough second half with a .692 OPS and has lost some playing time, so it was nice to see him take a big step in the right direction.

Bazzana singled for all four hits. The 23-year-old’s steal gives him 16 on his rookie campaign, while the three-RBI night bumps that total to 39. Bazzana has had some real ups and downs, but the future certainly looks bright for the 23-year-old based on those aforementioned ups.

Bazzana is still drawing walks, but he’s hitting .189 with only one extra-base hit in his last 21 games, leaving him at .235/.332/.372 overall. There might be a slight chance of the Guardians sending him down at some point, clearing the way for Angel Genao to play second base regularly.

Bazzana has sat against two of the three lefties the Guardians have faced since the callup of Angel Genao, who is playing second base and batting seventh tonight. It seems like it’ll be a trend unless an injury opens up more time for Genao at other positions. Bazzana is hitting just .192/.302/.240 against southpaws thus far.

Genao takes a seat with Travis Bazzana at the keystone and Brayan Rocchio at shortstop. The 22-year-old top prospect has made some serious waves, hitting .368 (7-for-19) with one homer and two RBI in five games since being promoted from Triple-A Columbus last week. He boasts impressive contact skills and has shown some impressive over-the-fence pop over the last few months. He’s seeing the ball extremely well at the moment and should be rostered in all fantasy formats, even if he’s going to cede the occasional start to Bazzana at second base when Rocchio is in the lineup.

The 23-year-old rookie infielder has seen his production fall off dramatically after his hot start, slashing a troublesome .216/.312/.358 with six homers, 25 RBI and nine stolen bases over 237 plate appearances since the start of June. He’ll get a day to clear his head with left-hander Noah Schultz on the mound for the White Sox.

It’s strange to see DeLauter taking a seat against a right-handed starter, especially since he’s hitting .344 (11-for-32) with four RBI and two steals in eight games since the All-Star break. With Angel Martínez back in right field, it’ll be rookie Travis Bazzana at DH with Gabriel Arias handling second base on Saturday evening.

Bazzana also walked twice before his walkoff shot off Dennis Santana in the bottom of the ninth gave the Guardians a doubleheader sweep. Throw in his RBI triple in the matinee, and it was a big day for a rookie hitting just .158/.241/.197 in his previous 19 games. He’s at .253/.337/.410 overall in 67 big-league games.

Bazzana has been removed from Cleveland’s leadoff spot after hitting .198/.280/.362 with four homers and four steals over his last 30 games. The 23-year-old rookie has been struggling recently, hitting just .238 (5-for-30) over his last seven games. It’ll be David Fry getting a look atop the lineup against Twins rookie lefty Connor Prielipp in this one. It could be a one-game decision, but fantasy managers should prepare for Bazzana to hit lower in the Guardians lineup against lefty starters moving forward.