Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics: April 14/15
A little home cooking has righted the Cleveland Guardians’ ship in 2025. The club followed a 3-6 road trip with a 5-1 homestand to bring their record to 8-7. It remains to be seen how fans should define this club besides “pretty good at home against bad teams.” Let’s investigate the numbers and see how the team ranks through fifteen games. Also, please don’t forget the sample size is small, and we don’t know nothin’ about nothin’ yet.
All stats and rankings as of 12p ET on Monday April 14
Runs per Game – 3.98
10th in AL, 21st overall
Strangely, the Guards’ runs per game are up from 3.78 last Monday but the rankings have slipped in both the AL and MLB at large. The Cubs are now the biggest boppers in the nation with 6.44 runs per game bookended by the Rockies at 2.67 per game. The good news is that Cleveland outscored its opponents 25-10 in the past six games.
Total hits – 105
13th in AL, 26th overall
This team just ain’t hitting as well as its peers. The league average is 121 hits, and the Cubs have 161 total (though they’ve played three more games). What’s interesting is the Guardians’ efficacy in hits. They managed only three in the home opener (a win), three hits in the next game (a win), followed by 10, 11, and 9 hits (three wins). It’s not record setting, but it’s good enough to be over .500.
Stolen bases – 6
13th in AL, 28th overall
Last season, you couldn’t keep the Guardians off the base paths. They finished the year with 148 stolen bases which ranked fifth in all Major League Baseball. Their aggressive baserunning meshed with their hack and slash style of offense, stretching singles into doubles, and manufacturing runs through force of will. Moreover, the team was only caught stealing 46 times for a success rate of 76.3%. This year the team has their shoelaces tied together. Cleveland has stolen only six bases and has been caught stealing five times for a success rate of 54.5%. Obviously, you need to get on base before you can swipe a bag, but the lack of success early on is not ideal.
ERA – 3.60
7th in AL, 12th overall
A pair of shutouts will do wonders for a team ERA. Cleveland’s pitchers surrendered a scant 1.67 runs per game during this homestand. The biggest worry spot on the pitching might be closer Emmanuel Clase. Last season he allowed five earned runs all regular season (74.1 innings). In 2025, he has already allowed six earned runs in seven innings pitched. Regression is inevitable but this is a red siren blaring at the back of the bullpen. There is plenty of time for Clase to fix this rough start, but he is not fooling many hitters right now, allowing 14 hits in seven appearances.
Strikeouts – 124
11th in AL, 21st overall
The pitching staff in general is looking up on the strikeout front. They are closer to league average of 132 but remain markedly behind the Houston Astros’ league leading 166. It doesn’t matter if the outs come at the plate, in the air or on the ground, but it does speak well of a staff that is able to miss the opponents’ bats.
Errors – 11
12th in AL, 25th overall
The Guards committed only two errors in the past week. Their 11 miscues no longer lead the league as the Red Sox have taken that mantle with 19. Boston has recorded 19 errors in only 17 games which is quite the claim to fame. The Phillies and Giants have only committed three each in fifteen games so good for them or whatever.
As the Guards head to Baltimore then Pittsburgh this week it will be interesting to see if the good habits they picked up in Northeast Ohio can carry over to the road. We’ll keep an eye on the stats and see how they are able to improve.