Injury-depleted Guardians aim to ignite offense vs. Brewers

The Cleveland Guardians are seeking answers to replace the offensive firepower left by Jose Ramirez and Angel Martinez, each of whom landed on the injured list over the weekend.

The search continues when the visiting Guardians face the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.

Brice Turang and Garrett Mitchell each hit solo homers to lift Milwaukee to a 2-1 victory on Tuesday in the opener of the three-game series. The win was the Brewers' seventh in their last 10 games.

Cleveland went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven runners on base in the loss. The Guardians were held to four hits and lost for the seventh time in their last 10 games.

Cleveland played without Ramirez (fractured hamate bone), Martinez (fractured left foot) and Chase DeLauter (bruised rib). While Ramirez and Martinez are expected to miss multiple weeks, DeLauter is listed as day-to-day.

DeLauter was injured while crashing into the right field wall in a win over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. He took pre-game swings on Tuesday and will be re-evaluated prior to Wednesday's game.

Guardians starting pitcher Slade Cecconi spoke after Tuesday's loss about the team's ability to overcome the recent injuries.

"I believe in all the guys in this locker room," Cecconi said. "That (Milwaukee) pitching staff, top to bottom, is incredible, just like ours. We're going to be playing a lot of close games against these guys. That's just how it's going to go. It's a game of inches."

Tuesday's contest marked the major league debut of Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt, who went 0-for-3 with a throwing error in the fourth inning.

Pratt, 21, signed an eight-year contract with the Brewers in April, reportedly worth $50.75 million with two club options for at least another $15 million per season.

"This is a kid we've signed for the long term," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "We feel confident he will be our shortstop of the future. He's going to play."

Wednesday's pitching matchup features a pair of right-handers as Cleveland's Gavin Williams (9-3, 3.32 ERA) faces Milwaukee's Brandon Sproat (1-4, 5.70).

Williams, 26, allowed four runs (three earned) over five innings in a no-decision against the New York Yankees last Monday.

"I thought Gavin at times looked really good," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "It wasn't as sharp as we've seen Gavin recently. They made him throw a lot of pitches...But he kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win."

Jackson Chourio is 1-for-6 with four strikeouts against Williams, who is 0-1 with a 7.00 ERA in two career starts versus Milwaukee.

The Brewers will counter with Sproat, who pitched six innings of one-run ball in a no-decision against the Athletics last Wednesday.

Sproat, 25, allowed four hits and completed six innings for just the second time this season. Murphy has expressed frustration at times with Sproat's inconsistency, but last Wednesday's outing was an encouraging one.

"I'm very pleased with him for going as long as he did," Murphy said. "That's pretty good. Good start - a quality start. He deserved to win."

Sproat is making his first career start against Cleveland.

-Field Level Media