TORONTO — Guardians manager Stephen Vogt made the kind of prediction a manager never likes to see come true prior to Saturday’s 5-3 comeback win against Toronto.

Vogt said Twins hitters jumped on Gavin Williams’ fastball in the his April 28 outing that ended with the right-hander surrendering seven runs in two innings, including a home run on the first pitch of the game by Edouard Julien.

“I’m sure the Blue Jays are going to come out jumping the fastball today,” Vogt said. “It’s not a mystery.”

Fast forward a few hours and Williams had no sooner thrown his first pitch than Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette deposited it beyond the wall in center field for a 1-0 Toronto lead.

Saturday’s home run on the first pitch by Williams marked the first time in Cleveland history that a pitcher has allowed a home run on the first pitch in consecutive starts, according to Elias.

It’s happened only two other times in the majors since 2000.

Cole Hamels, pitching for the Rangers in 2018 did so in back-to-back starts April 8 and April 13 that year. Minnesota’s Joe Ryan allowed first pitch homers in consecutive starts June 27 and July 3, 2023.

Tanner Bibee and Luis Ortiz have also allowed first-pitch leadoff home runs for Cleveland this season. The Guardians totaled six leadoff homers in all of 2024.

Vogt was asked whether or not the early homers are a troubling trend after Williams’ outing against Minnesota.

“It’s just circumstance,” Vogt said. “Credit to them for squaring it up. Those are just things that happen.”

Vogt said the key for Williams is landing his offspeed pitches in the strike zone.

“For Gavin, it’s just finding that consistency in his delivery and moving fast,” Vogt said. “When Gavin’s moving fast, he’s going to get good results.”

Back on the bump (and in the box)

Shane Bieber, Trevor Stephan and David Fry each took another step toward returning to game action on Friday when they participated in live a batting practice session at the club’s Goodyear, Ariz. training facility.

Each player is at different points in his recovery from reconstructive elbow surgery, but every step forward is one closer to getting them back in uniform for the Guardians.

“They all felt really healthy afterwards,” Vogt told reporters in Toronto.

Ex-teammate files

While several current Blue Jays players and coaches are ex-Guardians, including Myles Straw, Andrés Giménez and associate manager DeMarlo Hale, only one ex-Clevelander — Ernie Clement — actually played with Vogt. Clement spent about two weeks with the Athletics during Vogt’s final season and was waiting at the plate to give the future Guards skipper a big hug when he slugged a home run in his final major league at-bat.

It is a moment the Guardians manager recalls fondly.

“It was one of the coolest moments of my career,” Vogt said. “But Ernie, Dalton (Varsho) and Chris Bassitt are all former teammates. It’s kind of fun to see former teammates across the way, but it’s been fun to see what Ernie’s done here as he’s kind of created an opportunity for himself and earned it.”