Guardians ship Kyle Manzardo to Triple-A

Lowe was an offensive engine for the Guardians here. He got them on the board with a solo home run in the second, drove home another run with a single in the third, and scampered home to score on a wild pitch as they tried to mount a comeback in the eighth. In eight games since being acquired at the trade deadline, he’s gone 8-for-27 with two home runs and eight RBI.

Lowe is off to a .333/.385/.667 start in three games as a Guardian and has knocked in five runs. In this one, he took Nolan McLean out on a line drive to right for his 13th homer of the season. It’s likely he’ll remain a strong side platoon bat for the Guardians but a good first impression never hurts.

Lowe represents a strong depth addition for Cleveland at DH as they attempt to push some chips towards the metaphorical center of the table and make another playoff push. The 31-year-old has played mostly against right-handed starters, hitting .266/.341/.480 with 12 homers in 276 plate appearances for the Reds this season.

It’s another buzzer-beater for Cleveland as they’re adding Lowe to their first base and DH mix as a platoon option against right-handed starters. The 31-year-old has hit .266/.341/.480 with 12 homers in 276 plate appearances for the Reds this season.

Another little late boost for Lowe’s trade value. He’s hit .340/.365/.540 in 13 games to start the second half. With Luis García Jr. now off the table, teams still looking for a left-handed first base/DH type (Arizona? Cleveland?) could turn here.

The 26-year-old slugger will take a seat with left-hander Mitch Bratt toeing the slab for the Diamondbacks. Rhys Hoskins will start in his place at first base and bat cleanup for the Guardians on Friday evening in Cleveland.

Lowe strolled to the dish with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning and the score knotted at two runs apiece. He ended up hitting a slow ground ball to shortstop that resulted in an out at second base, but Lowe beat the relay throw to first to plate the winning run. He finished the day 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI and is now hitting .255/.332/.472 with 12 homers and 34 RBI in 262 plate appearances on the season.

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.

Sal Stewart singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th before Lowe broke it open, giving the Reds a 5-2 lead. The Cardinals then scored just the automatic runner in the bottom of the inning. Incredibly enough, it’s Lowe’s very first three-hit game of the year. He’s been pretty good in batting .258/.333/.475 in 249 plate appearances, and he’d seem to be a particularly likely candidate to be moved before next week’s trade deadline.