Guardians Get Inconsistent Quantrill Back, But Too Late to Matter
Cleveland’s only hope to play in the postseason is to catch the Twins.
The Cleveland Guardians (67-73) are six games behind the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central after dropping two of three games against the division leaders. They’ll start a must-win four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels tonight with 22 games left.
The Guardians’ pitching staff is 9th in baseball with a 3.96 era (Tied with Milwaukee). Terry Francona’s staff gets a boost from the addition of Cal Quantrill (2-6, 6.16 era), but is it a case of too little too late? We’ll examine Quantrill’s impact on the club and how we should bet games involving the former Stanford Cardinal.
Cleveland Wins Season Series; Not When It Mattered Most
This past week was the only chance the Guardians had at a position in the postseason. We thought Cleveland would have a better showing against Minnesota after winning six of their 10 meetings in 2023, but Minnesota increased their lead in the Central. In three games, one of the best pitching staffs in baseball allowed 29 runs in three games, which included one of the most lopsided baseball scores of the season when the Twins greeted Cleveland with a 20-6 beatdown in game one.
Cal Quantrill, son of 16-year pitcher Paul Quantrill, will get the start against the Los Angeles Angels tonight. Quantrill returned from the injury list to successfully face the Rays six days ago. The righty allowed two earned runs in 6 innings with three walks and two k’s. It was the first Guardians win with Quantrill on the hill since May 13th against the, you guessed it, Los Angeles Angels. That’s likely why Francona held Quantrill back instead of throwing him against the Twinkies.
2023 has been a disappointment for the Canadian after winning 15 games in 2022, placing him among the MLB stats leaders last season, but he can turn that frown upside down if he returns to his 15-win form down the stretch. Let’s conclude our peek at the Guardians by examining what impact Cal Quantrill could have from a betting perspective on Cleveland’s slim playoff hopes.
The Reality is, Quantrill Had One Fantastic Season
We know the Guardian faithful are excited about the return of Cal Quantrill to the rotation. Still, the reality is that he’s always been a model of inconsistency in his career, with just a speck of faith and optimism that he’ll become an automatic wager from season to season. That faith has never blossomed for professionals and has faded with the Joes. Most of us accept that the righty has been a losing wager (-1.38 units) behind a career 46-43 team record when the 28-year-old starts.
If we are allowed to take out his terrific 2022 campaign, the betting public is left with a 24-33 overall record (-11.59 units). On the road, Quantrill is better with an 11-9 (+2.56 units) over the last two seasons, but we’re not sure that’s enough to wipe away his 4-12 mark prior to 2022. Against teams under .500 on the road, like the Angels, Quantrill is 6-10 (-4.90 units) in his career.
We keep trying to find numbers to back the fans excitement, but this is a betting column, and for now, we have no idea who Quantrill is in terms of reliability with our money and if his MLB betting odds are worth it,
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