Guardians manager Stephen Vogt says Joey Cantillo 'has got the stuff' to succeed

CLEVELAND — Guardians rookie pitcher Joey Cantillo knows all about the challenge of "staying locked in pitch-by-pitch as consistently as possible" against major league hitters.

Cantillo , 24, has made two starts in the majors against two of the best teams: the National League East-leading Philadelphia Phillies and the Baltimore Orioles, who are in contention for the American League East title.

Cantillo , a left-hander from Honolulu, Hawaii, has shown flashes he can help the Guardians , who entered Saturday with the best record in baseball at 67-42.

He has also struggled to put hitters away, which happened Saturday in a 7-4 loss to the Orioles at Progressive Field .

Cantillo pitched into the fifth inning and was pulled after Orioles rookie Jackson Holliday lined a double off the left field fence. Cantillo allowed six hits and three earned runs, struck out four and walked none.

"I thought Joey had some good stuff," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "Again, high pitch count and kind of lost his command. One of the things I have seen now both games with Joey is getting ahead 0-1, 0-2 and then letting them back into the count and getting to 3-2 and having a tough time putting them away.

"Similar to in Philly, we saw some really good things from Joey and some really promising things. I thought he threw the ball well overall, but a high pitch count and they got to him."

Cantillo , who is 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, threw 88 pitches Saturday. He struck out Ryan Mountcastle, Eloy Jimenez, Colton Cowser and Austin Slater.

The Orioles made adjustments, and Gunnar Henderson, Anthony Santander, Jimenez and Cowser hit singles in the fourth against Cantillo. Jimenez drove in Henderson and Cowser scored Santander.

"The biggest thing is make adjustments," Cantillo said. "... I felt good. I probably attacked guys a little better the first time through than the second time through [the lineup]. I fell behind a little bit more the second time through and had to throw more pitches behind in the count, which your margin for error is going to be smaller, so that is what happened, especially to start off that fifth inning.

"I feel like we were in a good spot there and I just fell behind on Holliday a little bit and he was able to put that ball in play."

Pedro Avila relieved Cantillo and Holliday scored on an RBI single by Henderson. The Orioles added four runs in the eighth inning with Henderson, Santander, Adley Rutschman, Ryan O'Hearn and Holliday doing damage against Xzavion Curry.

Cantillo and Curry were optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Sunday as the Guardians promoted Connor Gillispie and Eli Morgan.

Cleveland acquired Cantillo from San Diego on Aug. 31, 2020, in a trade that sent Mike Clevinger, Greg Allen and Matt Waldron to the Padres. The Guardians received Cantillo, Austin Hedges, Cal Quantrill, Josh Naylor, Gabriel Arias and Owen Miller. All six have played for Cleveland.

Cantillo had success in Akron and Columbus since 2021, but has also dealt with injuries.

Cantillo pitched 3⅓ innings in his major league debut on July 28 against the Phillies. He gave up a solo home run and a two-run homer to Kyle Schwarber, and finished with a line of four hits, three earned runs, three strikeouts and three walks in a game the Guardians won 4-3.

Vogt is searching for more starters to consistently pitch deeper into games with Guardians relievers Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis, Scott Barlow, Cade Smith and Tim Herrin in the top 10 in the AL in appearances at 50 or more apiece.

Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively are Cleveland's two consistent starters who are capable of pitching past the fifth inning. Carlos Carrasco and Gavin Williams have produced mixed results, Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen are in Columbus, Shane Bieber is injured and out for the season and recent additions Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb are rehabbing from injuries.

"I see a guy that doesn't get rattled and doesn't get shaken," Vogt said of Cantillo. "He is ready to make every pitch and he is competitive. With Joey, I see that in him and I like when he is on the mound. I feel good. For him, he has got the stuff. He just hasn't gotten deep into a game."

Cleveland Guardians surpass last year's home run total

Angel Martinez and José Ramírez each hit a two-run home run Saturday to give the Guardians 125 home runs this season, which surpassed the team's total amount of homers last season.

CC Sabathia inducted into Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame

Cy Buynak, Johny Goryl and CC Sabathia were inducted into the the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame before Saturday's game.

"I always tell people I was born and raised in California, but I grew up here in Cleveland," Sabathia told the crowd after being introduced by Guardians radio broadcaster Tom Hamilton.

Cleveland Hall of Famers Manny Ramirez, Sandy Alomar Jr., Carlos Baerga, Charles Nagy, Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, Andre Thornton and Mike Hargrove were seated on the field with the family and friends of Buynak, Goryl and Sabathia.

Victor Martinez and Mark Shapiro were also on the field during the ceremony.

Cleveland drafted a 17-year-old Sabathia with the 20th pick in the 1998 MLB Draft. Sabathia made his MLB debut in 2001 and posted a 17-5 record with 171 strikeouts.

Sabathia made three all-star appearances and helped Cleveland win two AL Central titles in seven and a half seasons before he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008 and signed a free agent contract with the New York Yankees.

Sabathia won the AL Cy Young Award in 2007 with a 19-7 record, a 3.21 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 241 innings. In Cleveland history, he ranks seventh in strikeouts (1,265), 13th in wins (106) and 15th in innings (1,528⅔).

Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians manager Stephen Vogt says Joey Cantillo 'has got the stuff' to succeed