Cleveland Guardians Star Gets Direct on Emmanuel Clase

The struggles continued for Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase on Sunday, as he blew his second save of the season in what ended up being a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Clase allowed three runs on four hits in the ninth inning and now owns an ugly 7.84 ERA on the year. He also lays claim to an alarming 2.23 WHIP, surrendering 20 hits over 10.1 frames.

For comparison's sake, Clase allowed five earned runs in all of 2024. He has already given up nine earned runs this season.

While Clase's troubles are certainly cause for concern, Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan remains confident in the right-hander, giving Clase a vote of confidence after the game.

“Clase has closed out so many games for us,” Kwan said, via Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. “He’s going to have these kind of days. He’s still our dawg. He’s still our guy. We have the utmost confidence in him."

That's good to know, because at this point, it's fair to question whether or not Clase has confidence in himself. Remember: the 27-year-old had a horrific playoff showing last October, and it seems to have carried over into the 2025 regular season.

Clase has made three consecutive All-Star appearances and logged a minuscule 0.61 ERA last year. He owns a lifetime 1.79 ERA, so perhaps this is just a temporary blip for Clase. There's also a chance that it's much more than that, which would spell very bad news for the Guardians.

In spite of Clase having difficulty finding his groove, Cleveland has managed to go 12-9 thus far on the campaign. The Guardians will begin a three-game series with the New York Yankees on Monday.

Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage