During Wednesday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Guardians — or whoever runs the Guardians X account — took issue with a strategy used by the Reds.
Wednesday was a bullpen game for Cleveland. Andrew Walters started the game, pitching 1.2 innings, Erik Sabrowski then went 1.1 innings. Cade Smith and Eli Morgan were the next two up, pitching one and two innings, respectively. Those pitchers did well. When Tim Herrin took the mound for the seventh inning, the Guardians not only had a 2-0 lead but had yet to allow a baserunner. That quickly changed when TJ Friedl, leading the top of the seventh off for the Reds, reached on a bunt single.
The Guardians voiced their displeasure on X (formerly Twitter), posting video of the play along with the caption, “Breaking up a perfect game through 6.0 on a bunt? Kentucky Reds behavior.”
Breaking up a perfect game through 6.0 on a bunt? Kentucky Reds behavior. pic.twitter.com/qSUFbKTQzE
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 26, 2024
For anyone unaware, after Cleveland’s win over Cincinnati on Tuesday, the Guardians X account shared “photos” of Cleveland’s players celebrating the win, wearing shirts that said “Cincinnati is in Kentucky.” Of course, the photos were actually from when the Guardians clinched the AL Central days earlier, and the “Cincinnati is in Kentucky” part was photoshopped in.
But that’s not the issue here.
MLB’s “unwritten rules” have been a source of contention for a long time. In some cases, they may be logical — at least in certain situations. But this isn’t one of those times.
While bunting is far less common in modern MLB than in bygone eras, it’s still not too surprising to see a team’s first or second hitter try to get the game going with a bunt. Such situations hardly draw any backlash at all — but why? Why is bunting to break up a perfect game not OK in the seventh inning if it’s fine in the first? If the desire is simply to have the first hit of the game be a clean single to the outfield, it shouldn’t matter when it comes.
But in the seventh inning, the finish line is visible. That’s true, of course — for both teams. When the seventh inning begins, the trailing team has nine outs to turn things around. Obviously, it hasn’t had a lot of luck swinging the bats, so why not try to get something going another way? After all, shouldn’t the result of the game matter more than an individual accomplishment (sidenote, calling a would-be combined perfect game an “individual accomplishment” is a stretch, particularly when no pitcher throws more than two innings)?
If we’re talking a 10-0 game in the seventh inning, OK. It’s still not the job of the hitting team to roll over. But if you want to argue that bunting should be off-limits then, it’s a worthy argument. At that point, with the outcome of the game no longer in doubt, individual achievements can be pressed into the forefront. But a 2-0 lead is never safe until the game is actually over. Case in point, while the Guardians ultimately won Wednesday’s game, the Reds tied it up first. Playing to win takes priority over the other team’s attempt at a combined perfecto.
