With his season debut out of the way, right-hander Alex Cobb can focus on trying to help the Cleveland Guardians continue their latest run of success.
Cobb will be looking to lead host Cleveland to a fifth straight win and a three-game series sweep when the Guardians face the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.
Acquired from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline, Cobb (0-1, 7.71 ERA) made his first big-league start of 2024 on Friday, giving up five runs (four earned) and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings to take a loss against the Minnesota Twins.
Cobb had not pitched since Sept. 19, 2023, and had been recovering from left hip surgery.
“The stuff was fine all game, it was the stuff and location combo that I was having trouble with,” Cobb said of his outing Friday. “You need both of those to be sharp.”
Despite the result, Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges believes the 36-year-old Cobb can build off his first performance with his new team.
“There were a lot of things to like,” Hedges said. “All his pitches have such good action. He commands the ball really well. They took some good swings on some good pitches. There’s a lot to look forward to with him pitching every five days.”
After left-hander Matthew Boyd, another recently acquired veteran, allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings in his season and Guardians debut during their 2-1 win over Chicago on Tuesday, Cobb will be aiming to deliver a similar performance.
Cobb is 0-1 with a 1.50 ERA in two career starts against the Cubs.
Cleveland rookie Jhonkensy Noel broke a 1-1 tie with a homer in the sixth inning on Tuesday after clubbing a three-run blast and a solo shot during the Guardians’ 9-8 victory over the Cubs on Monday. Noel has hit nine home runs in 32 games this season for the American League Central-leading Guardians, who have won four straight after a seven-game losing streak that was preceded by a stretch of five consecutive victories.
Meanwhile, the Cubs have followed a four-game winning streak with a pair of losses to Cleveland.
“Any game you don’t win, it’s a missed opportunity,” Chicago outfielder Ian Happ said.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon (8-6, 3.50) is scheduled to start for the Cubs on Wednesday. Despite giving up five runs on nine hits in five innings on Friday, he still came away with a victory over the Chicago White Sox in his most recent start.
“I feel like it was one of those games where it wasn’t my best,” Taillon said. “I felt fine, but that’s just the way the game goes. … You can’t expect it to all go perfect.”
Taillon, who is 2-1 with an 8.40 ERA over his past three road starts, is 1-2 with a 4.71 ERA in four career starts against the Guardians.
Cleveland outfielder Lane Thomas has homered twice off Taillon, but Guardians star third baseman Jose Ramirez is just 1-for-10 against him.
Chicago’s Nico Hoerner had two hits on Tuesday and is batting .320 with six stolen bases in his past 12 games.
