Guardians notes: Bullpen continues to be strong

CLEVELAND — Guardians manager Stephen Vogt tips his cap to his team's bullpen, ranked third overall in the major leagues since Aug. 1. After throwing three scoreless innings Sunday in Tampa Bay, Cleveland's bullpen owned a 3.18 ERA in its last 34 games prior to Monday. Only Kansas City (3.02) and Tampa Bay (3.16) have been better during that stretch. The Guardians bullpen has allowed 99 hits in that span, surpassed only by Philadelphia (82) and Detroit (97). "That's a special group of guys," Vogt said. "They have their own team out there. It's a group effort. Those guys put in so much work to keep themselves available every night. "Those guys put in so much work. They come in, get their three outs and shake hands." Vogt has been especially impressed with middle reliever Matt Festa, 3-3 with a 4.34 ERA and nine holds in 53 games prior to Monday. "He's been one of the biggest pieces of our bullpen all year," he said. "He's put out so many fires for us. He's been a huge factor in our success." Late push All-Star Steven Kwan had five stolen bases in the Tampa Bay series and has 19 on the year. He's second on the team to Jose Ramirez's 37 stolen bases. "He's running well," Vogt said. "He knows when to go and when not to go." The manager said Kwan's offseason work is paying off this late in the season. "He's getting a second wind," Vogt said. Thomas done? Outfielder Lane Thomas, who has been sidelined with right plantar fasciitis, was pulled from the lineup at AA Akron with foot pain. "We're going to get him to see a specialist and determine the next steps," Vogt said. "We're just really bummed for Lane. It hasn't been the best season for him." Means under weather Left-hander John Means' recovery from Tommy John surgery has been curtailed due to sickness. He was on a rehab assignment at AAA Columbus when he complained of being sick. "He felt fine pitching-wise through the whole outing, which is what matters as far as baseball," Vogt said. "We (have) to get that under control before we can determine what's next. We're going through the process of gathering all the information with the new information." Witt sidelined Royals shortstop Bobby Witt has missed the last three games with back spasms and had an MRI. Kansas City isn't sure when the All-Star would return. Vogt cautioned that the Royals are still a very good team with Witt in or out of the lineup. He likened it to the Guardians playing without Jose Ramirez. "Hopefully, (Witt) gets back out there soon," the manager said. The 25-year-old two-time All-Star came into the Cleveland series batting .294 with 21 homers and 77 RBIs. He's been replaced at shortstop by rising star Maikel Garcia. Yaz finds new home Outfielder Mike Yastrzemski was batting only .212 when the San Francisco Giants traded him to the Royals. He's hitting .277 with three homers and eight RBIs in 15 games in Kansas City. "He's been a really good player in the league for six years now," Vogt said. "He complements the lineup. Sometimes when you go to a new place, it can reinvigorate. You get to make new impressions when you get somewhere new. It's not always a good thing for a change of scenery, but sometimes it can be exactly what you needed." Yastrzemski is the grandson of Red Sox Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com.