CLEVELAND, Ohio — Tanner Bibee is hoping the Millennium Force portion of his season is over.
Cedar Point thrill seekers are familiar with the roller coaster known by the above name. While it may spike their adrenaline, for a starting pitcher looking to settle into the season, the pulse-pounding ups and downs are something to avoid.
Which is why Bibee was encouraged by his start on Saturday night. The Guardians lost, 7-1, to the Phillies at Progressive Field in front of a sellout crowd, but the final score was not a reflection of how he pitched.
For the first seven innings, Bibee and lefty Ranger Suarez engaged in a duel. The score stood, 1-0, in Suarez’s favor at the end of the seventh. When the Phillies scored six two-out runs in the eighth against Jakob Junis and Joey Cantillo, Bibee was in the dugout munching on a banana to help battle some late-inning leg cramps.
Bibee (3-3, 3.80) allowed one run. He struck out three, didn’t walk a batter and allowed five hits in just 96 pitches.
“The first month of the season is definitely a roller coaster,” said Bibee, after the game. “I feel like I’ve been able to get my base and have something I can lean on with every single outing.
“Now, it’s just trying to keep a steady incline.”
Bibee certainly has had his ups and downs through his first seven starts.
He missed his season-opening assignment against Kansas City on March 28 because of food poisoning before throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a win against the Royals on March 30.He allowed four homers and seven runs against the Angels in his second start on April 5, and three more homers against the Orioles on April 17.Bibee bounced back to throw six quality innings in a 3-2 win against the Yankees on April 22.He was even better in a seven-inning no decision against the Twins on April 29 in which he allowed one run over seven innings in 92 pitches.Bibee did a five-and-fly on May 4 in a 5-4 win over Toronto at Rogers Centre. He was at 86 pitches after five when he came down with leg cramps at the start of the sixth inning.
Tanner Bibee, Cleveland Guardians.AP
In his last four starts, Bibee is 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA (six earned runs in 25 innings). He’s walked five, struck out 16 and allowed 20 hits.
It would appear Bibee has found his base.
“I feel if I’m filling up the strike zone with every single outing, I feel I have a chance to go six, seven, eight innings,” he said. “If I’m not filling up the zone, it’s going to be a grind or a really rough day.”
Like all pitchers, Bibee enjoys strikeouts. In reality, though, most big-league teams prefer quality innings from their rotation instead of big strikeout numbers. It can go a long way in protecting a bullpen.
“Striking out people is nice, but if I’m getting first-pitch outs (I’m getting deeper into games),” said Bibee. “If I had struck out seven people today, I bet you I don’t go out there for the seventh.
“It’s the push-pull. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. My goal, going into this year, was getting deeper into games. That’s what I’m doing.
“I don’t think I threw seven innings in an outing last year until the end of May. Now I’ve done it twice. Gone six innings a couple of times. The goal has been achieved so far. Now I’ve just got to keep it going.”
For the record, Bibee had two seven-inning starts before the end of May in 2024 — April 27 against Atlanta and May 19 against the Twins. The important thing here is that he’s ahead of schedule since Saturday’s start against the Phillies came on May 10.
“Tanner was outstanding,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “He was efficient, created weak contact and kept them off balance. He gave us a great chance to win.”
Phillies manager Rob Thomson agreed.
“Bibee is really good,” said Thomson. “He’s got different pitches and he keeps you off-balance. That’s a really good pitcher.”
In his first seven starts, Bibee’s mix of pitches broke down this way, according to Statcast: 37.2% four seam fastballs, 26.4% cut fastballs, 24.4% sinkers, 19.4% sweeper/sliders, 2.8% changeups and 2.1% curves.
He changed the mix on Saturday, going 34% cutters, 24% sinkers, 14% fastballs, 14% sweepers/sliders, 11% changeups and 2% curves.
“Tanner is attacking the zone. He’s using all his pitches,” said Vogt. “The sinker-cutter combo has really become a good weapon for him.
“Then he throws the sweeper and changeup off of that. It’s been really good for him.”
In the world of three outcome baseball — strikeout, walk or home run — the strikeout is the safest way to go for a pitcher. A batter that strikes out can’t hurt a pitcher or his team. But it is not the only way for a pitcher to succeed.
“He filled up the zone, got quick outs and he wasn’t chasing punchouts. He was letting them happen,” said catcher Austin Hedges. “He had some really quick innings.”
It doesn’t mean Bibee can’t get a strikeout when he needs one. It just means he can change tactics.
“That’s what aces do and that’s what he is,” said Hedges. “He used all his weapons. As the season goes on, he’s just getting better and better.”