Guardians notes: Manager Stephen Vogt staying positive after fateful road trip

CLEVELAND — The Guardians returned from a disastrous six-game road trip facing a 12½-game deficit in the Central Division while trailing by five games in the wild card race. Still, manager Stephen Vogt is staying positive and focusing on the future. What else can he do? "It's a choice. My dad told me, 'You wake up in the morning and you get to decide if you're gonna have a good day or not,'" Vogt said. "Anytime you allow other things to dictate you mood, they're gonna grab it and they're gonna run with it. "The positives are we get an opportunity to win a baseball game tonight, and we're gonna get to do it again tomorrow. Show up every day with the attitude that, 'We're gonna win, and we're gonna do all the work we can to go out and play at our best.'" Cleveland needs to start winning soon to stay in postseason contention. The Guardians lost two of three at Arizona before getting swept by the Rangers over the weekend. They entered Monday third in the division behind the Royals and first-place Detroit and a game under .500 at 64-65. "To me, it comes down to us throwing strikes and us getting hits in big spots, situational hitting, coming through with runners in scoring position," Vogt said. "You have to focus on what you can control each day, and for us that's playing a clean baseball game, fill up the strike zone and take good at-bats and get big hits when we need to. "It's still baseball. The calendar can add some pressure, but it's one game at a time. Games in April count the same as they do now. It's a bunch of sprints for a full marathon. You play one game at a time. We can't control yesterday or tomorrow. We have to focus on today." He's the Man-zardo Kyle Manzardo was a Rays prospect when the Guardians acquired him in a trade for starting pitcher Aaron Civale at last season's trade deadline. He's become a full-time player for Cleveland in a little over a year. "Kyle's really learned how to use the whole field," Vogt said. "I think his first few stints with us last year there was a lot of pull, and early in the year there was a lot of pull. Now, he's using the whole field. He's taking his singles. He's driving balls the other way. He's taking his walks. "We've seen him really give a professional at-bat for the majority of this year. We've seen some growth at first base. He had a rough game early in the year and it kind of trickled with him for a week or so after that, but he's been solid over there at first base. We're happy with the development of Kyle. He's handled himself well." Manzardo entered Monday batting .280 with six home runs, 18 RBIs and an .884 OPS since the All-Star break. He ranked second on the team in homers (21) and RBIs (55) through Sunday. Baby boom Daniel Schneemann was placed on the paternity list and is unavailable for the three-game series against Tampa Bay. The Guardians recalled Will Wilson from Triple-A Columbus to fill Schneeman's roster spot. "I told him, 'Send me a picture of the baby. Let me know that mama's all right, and then don't talk to me until you get back to Cleveland. You need to be a dad and a husband for three days. Don't worry about us,'" Vogt said. What's it Means? Left-hander John Means is scheduled to make another rehab start tonight, throwing around 65 pitches for Columbus at Louisville. Means' first two outings came at Class A Lake County, where he tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings and allowed three hits and struck out seven. Roundin' third Jose Ramirez entered Monday needing one stolen base to reach 280 and pass Omar Vizquel for second-most in franchise history behind Kenny Lofton (452). l Since the start of 2020, Cleveland had struck out 4,520 times through Sunday, accounting for the lowest total in the majors. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on X @CAwesomeheimer.