The Padres flip the script in game two, shutting the Guardians out 7-0.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Guardians looked like they had come back for the second half of the season ready to hit. That was until the Padres shut them out in game two on Saturday night 7-0.

Cleveland bats struggled against Padres pitching, tallying a single hit through all nine innings. On the other side of things, Guardians pitching couldn’t sustain San Diego bats, giving up 11 hits on the night.

Starting pitching struggles continue- While it was only his fourth start back off the 60-day injured list (right elbow inflammation), Gavin Williams (L, 3.2IP, 6H, 3ER, 2BB, 5SO) struggled to find his command against the Padres. Through the first three innings, he managed to keep runners from crossing home despite allowing five runners on the bases. Things collapsed in front of his eyes in the fourth inning when the righty put himself in bases loaded situations, walking a run in, which was followed shortly after with a hit-by-pitch to score another. The Padres went up 3-0 as Williams exited the game on 84 pitches. Along with the lack of command for the strike zone, he couldn’t get a feel for his off-speed pitches and slider. “It's disappointing more than anything, especially being able to throw it more last year, especially with the slider. I mean, I just have little things to figure out here and there,” said Williams.

Cease seized the Guardians offense- Dylan Cease earned his ninth win for the Padres, striking out 10 batters in his outing, while allowing the only hit of the night. “He was some kind of special tonight, and it showed,” said Vogt. “We had a hard time getting anything going and he just dominated us tonight.” The single hit by Tyler Freeman booked the Guardians their second one-hit shutout of the season, with the other back on May 8 against the White Sox, also led by Cease.

Bullpen streak cut short - The Guardians extended their bullpen scoreless inning streak to 18.1 before Spencer Howard (2.0IP, 4H, 4R,1ER, 2SO) gave up a solo shot in the eighth inning. The streak was the 2nd longest scoreless inning streak from the bullpen this season.

Pack the house- The Guardians were welcomed back into Progressive Field from All-Star break with back to back sellout crowds. Friday and Saturday nights crowds mark the 10th and 11th of the 2024 season, the most in a season for Cleveland since 2017 when the team tallied 13. Saturday night also marked the largest crowd of the season with 37,485 fans in attendance.

Boyd gets one step closer- LHP Matthew Boyd continues to make strides closer to his debut with the Guardians and first major league game back from Tommy John surgery. Boyd hasn’t seen a big league game in over a year, getting his last start for Detroit on June 26, 2023, against the Texans. The lefty made his first rehab appearance Tuesday night in the Arizona Complex League. He allowed just one run over 3.0 innings, retiring seven batters with a single walk. According to manager Steven Vogt, Boyd is scheduled to make his next rehab start with AA-Akron on Sunday. Excluding any setbacks, the team expects Boyd to be an option for them mid-August.

Buyers or sellers - With the MLB Trade deadline approaching on July 30th, moves are expected to be made within the organization. Speculation ran Saturday afternoon, after both Joey Cantillo for AAA-Columbus and CJ Kayfus in AA-Akron were evidently pulled from their scheduled starts today. Cantillo did make it into the game, but not until the third inning.

Regardless of what happens at the deadline, Vogt weighed out the highs and lows for his team. "The trade deadline stinks. You’re either losing people you love, or gaining somebody that you don't know,” Said Vogt. “In theory it sounds good, let’s go get this, let’s go get that, but there are a couple people that have to go away when that happens”

Up next - Guardians finish their three game series with the Padres on Sunday at 1:40. RHP Ben Lively (8-5, 3.58) vs RHP Michael King (7-6, 3.41). Cleveland then jumps right into a four game series with the Detroit Tigers on Monday at 6:40.