Kyle Manzardo hitless again Sunday vs. Pirates

This was a big game for Manzardo who hasn’t had many of those so far this season. He did well to sit back and let Brady Singer implode in what became a four-run fifth inning by drawing the first of two bases loaded walks. Then, he hit a long home run in the seventh that helped lengthen the Guardians’ lead. At 425 feet, it was his second longest homer on the season and his second blast in three games. Manzardo’s starting spot may be tenuous with the trade deadline coming up and his disappointing .681 OPS on the season, but there’s a chance the Guardians look to upgrade different parts of the roster and leave first base to him.

Manzardo was 4-for-26 with no extra-base hits and an 11/0 K/BB with the bases loaded in his career before taking Chase Burns deep in the first inning today. The Guardians went on to lose the 4-0 lead, falling behind 5-4 in the fourth, but they manufactured single runs in the fifth and eighth to pull this one out. Manzardo is batting .211/.300/.367 with 12 homers in 340 plate appearances this season, and his strikeout rate has jumped from 25 percent last year to 32 percent right now. He came through today, but his short- and long-term future as a platoon starter should be very much in doubt.

Manzardo’s home run was his ninth of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Spencer Arrighetti in the third inning. It’s his second home run in the last three games. Manzardo is now 14-for-47 (.297) with four home runs and nine RBI in 15 games in June. He’s worth consideration in most fantasy leagues given his recent production and more opposing right-handed starting pitchers on the Guardians’ schedule next week.

Manzardo’s homer was his seventh of the year and second in as many days. He took Gerrit Cole deep in the second inning, the first long ball Cole had allowed in three starts since returning from Tommy John surgery. Manzardo has finally received some consistent playing time, primarily hitting cleanup against opposing righties. Cleveland has one more game in the Bronx before visiting Texas for a three-game weekend series.

Manzardo was the unlikely hero in a game where Cristopher Sánchez and Gavin Williams each tossed eight scoreless innings. Well, after Sánchez came out, Manzardo pinch-hit for Rhys Hoskins in the ninth and launched a first pitch home run off Jhoan Duran to put the Guardians up. It’s been a trying season overall for Manzardo – this was just his fifth home run to go along with a .228 batting average – but maybe this clutch shot can get him going.

The homers were two of six that Cleveland hit in the contest. Manzardo’s first one was a titanic two-run blast against Brady Singer in the third inning, and he followed it up with a solo shot off left-hander Brock Burke. He got off to a very cold start in April, striking out in 35 percent of his plate appearances, but he’s been hitting better in May and should remain a middle-of-the-order presence against right-handers. Cleveland next heads out on a seven-game road trip to Detroit and Philadelphia.

Manzardo had gotten the day off with a lefty on the mound for the A’s. He entered the game as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and took Luis Morales deep for a three-run blast. It was the second home run of the season for Manzardo. He’s struggled over the first month, slashing .187/.272/.275 with ten RBI across 103 plate appearances.

Manzardo got the best of Braves starter Bryce Elder in the fourth inning, taking the first pitch he saw 468 feet to right field for his first homer of the season to tie the game at 1-1. It would be the only hit of the night for Manzardo, who entered the day hitting .086 and is still hoping to tap back into the form he saw last season when he hit 27 homers and drove in 70 runs. Manzardo’s struggles date back to spring training when he slashed .182/.237/.345 in 59 plate appearances, making him hard to trust until things begin to turn around.

Even with tough left-hander Cole Ragans on the mound, the Guardians will have DeLauter back in the lineup after one day off. He will hit fifth instead of second, but it’s nice to see that he is not in a strict platoon. It does seem like Kyle Manzardo and Bo Baylor are in strict platoons, as both of them will sit yet again with Austin Hedges catching and Rhys Hoskins at first base.

The 33-year-old slugger is expected to be a regular against left-handed pitching for the Guardians, but he’s in there against a right-hander as well on Opening night. If he’s able to stay healthy and regain his power stroke, he could wind up providing some mixed league viability. Here’s the full lineup that manager Stephen Vogt will use against Logan Gilbert and the M’s on Thursday: Steven Kwan (LF), Chase DeLauter (RF), Jose Ramirez (3B), Kyle Manzardo (DH), Bo Naylor (C), Rhys Hoskins (1B), Daniel Schneemann (CF), Gabriel Arias (SS) and Brayan Rocchio (2B).