Manager Stephen Vogt has special message for Guardians reliever

“Every time he gets the ball, he gives us everything he’s got. He threw the ball really well last month. I was happy for him.”

Morgan led off the 10th inning against the Twins with the score tied, 2-2. The automatic runner was on second base and things quickly got complicated. Morgan hit Matt Wallner with a pitch and Willie Castro advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt.

Leadoff hitter Manuel Margot walked Morgan for a walk and loaded the bases. Morgan, however, retired the dangerous Carlos Correa on a fly ball to first base. The inning ended with Byron Buxton grounding out to right.

When Andres Gimenez singled to score the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning for Morgan’s 3-2 victory, Morgan won one of the most important games of the year.

“Thursday was fun, but as Vogt said in his speech, we need to get back to work because there is still a lot to do,” Morgan said.

Morgan (3-0, 1.64 ERA) started the season with the Guardians but was placed on injured reserve twice with right shoulder and right elbow soreness. After coming off the injured list, he was sent to Class AAA Columbus on July 7 and remained there until Aug. 4.

Since his recall, Morgan has a 1.46 ERA (four earned runs in 24 2/3 innings) over his last 17 games.

Morgan is part of not only one of the best bullpens in the major leagues, but one of the deepest. Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis, Nick Sandlin and Emmanuel Clase are the relievers everyone is talking about.

But Morgan, Pedro Avila and Erik Sabrowski played well in supporting roles. Avila and Sabrowski finished Friday’s 5-1 victory with four scoreless innings in relief of starter Ben Lively. Sabrowski went the final 2 1/3 innings to earn his first major league save.

Some of the relievers who helped the Guardians this year are no longer with the club, like Scott Barlow, Curry, Wes Parsons and Darren McCaughan. Others like Peter Strzelecki, Connor Gillispie and Anthony Gose are in Columbus. Left-hander Sam Hentges is on the injured list.

“Relievers can’t pitch every day,” Vogt said, referring to the depth of the bullpen. “We’ve had very few days where we’ve been light (in the bullpen) and it hasn’t worked out. Friday, we had guys available, but Pedro and Erik were the freshest and they pitched four innings to finish the game without much of a threat.”

“We’ve had a number of players contribute to that bullpen. It’s not just the four guys that everyone talks about.”

The Guardians took Sabrowski during the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft off the unprotected list from San Diego on December 8, 2021.

He missed the 2018, 2019 and 2020 seasons due to two Tommy John surgeries on his left elbow. The 2020 season, caused by COVID-19, also played a role in his time away from the mound.

The Guardians recalled him on September 4 and he pitched 10 scoreless innings. He struck out 13 batters, walked three and gave up six hits. The opposition is batting .171 against him.

“From what I know now, coming back from the second Tommy John surgery, I don’t think the first one went 100 percent,” said Sabrowksi, who made his major league debut Sept. 4.

Sabrowski underwent his first Tommy John surgery in July 2018. He returned to play in June 2021, but he knew something was wrong. He underwent the second surgery in October 2021 and didn’t start pitching in games until May 2023.

“My recovery was pretty long after the second surgery,” Sabrowski said. “It was worth it. The training staff at Goodyear deserves a lot of credit for the way I feel now.”

The Guardians have had 23 pitchers and one catcher, Austin Hedges, make relief appearances for Cleveland this year.