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3 days ago
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KANSAS CITY (AP) — Cleveland's Tanner Bibee was scratched from his opening day start due to the stomach flu.
The Guardians made the announcement on Thursday morning, four hours before they faced the Kansas City Royals.
Ben Lively will make his first opening day start for the Guardians in a matchup between two clubs that made the postseason last year.
The Guardians said Bibee was suffering from acute gastroenteritis. Manager Stephen Vogt said the right-hander was feeling better Thursday morning, but it wouldn't have been fair for Bibee to take the ball after struggling the past couple days.
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“To have to tell him that we’re not going to have you pitch today, he was obviously upset,” Vogt said of his conversation with Bibee. “He wanted to go despite feeling like he has the last 36 hours, but it just wasn’t the right thing to do. You know, you don’t know what if something goes wrong, if something happens to him.”
Bibee, who would have made his first opening day start, signed a $48 million, five-year contract with a club option for 2030. The 26-year old California native 12-8 with a 3.47 ERA last season.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro said he was informed by Vogt on Wednesday that Bibee might not be available to go.
“That’s my protocol. I don’t play games,” Vogt said. "You can’t trick anybody in baseball. The only thing you’re doing is creating more work for the staff and support staff by not communicating."
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Vogt and pitching coach Carl Willis called Lively on Wednesday morning and had him take an earlier flight to Kansas City in case he had to go. The right-hander was 13-10 and posted a 3.81 ERA last season.
Lively is only the fourth Cleveland pitcher to start an opener since 2012. Justin Masterson got the call from 2012 through '14 followed by Corey Kluber (2015-19) and Shane Bieber (2020-24).
Bibee could face the Royals on Saturday or Sunday, but Vogt wants to assess things before revising the rotation.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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