Mr. Rocchio’s new neighborhood suits him just fine: Guardians takeaways

HOUSTON — It took Brayan Rocchio a few days to get used to leaving home. Home, to Rocchio, is the No. 9 spot in manager Stephen Vogt’s lineup. He’s spent most of the season there and done well. When Jose Ramirez, Angel Martinez and Chase DeLauter were injured against the Tigers on June 13, Rocchio had to pack and move to the high-rent district of Vogt’s starting nine. Rocchio’s new neighborhood wasn’t welcoming at first. He moved into the No. 2 spot in the lineup on Tuesday against Milwaukee and went 0 for 4 in a 2-1 loss. On Wednesday, Rocchio hit third and went 0 for 3 in a 9-4 loss to the Brewers. All season Rocchio called the No. 9 spot in the lineup “my home” and he was indeed homesick. “I was just a little excited,” said Rocchio. In Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Brewers, Rocchio went 2 for 4 with a double in the No. 3 spot. In Friday’s 9-3 loss to Houston, he went 2 for 4 again with a double and RBI. “We always tell our hitters to just go take your at-bats,” said Vogt. “It doesn’t matter where you’re hitting. Just take your at-bat. “It’s only natural that if you’re hitting third you’ve got to try to hit home runs and drive runs in. We just want our guys to take their normal at-bats.” In the No. 9 spot, Rocchio is hitting .277 (56 for 202) with nine doubles, two triples, five homers and 31 RBI. He leads all No. 9 hitters in the big leagues in hits, runs and RBI. “I don’t rarely sit down with players because it feels like they’re in the principal’s office,” said Vogt. “I definitely talked to Brayan and told him, ‘Hey, you’re moving up in the order. Keep doing what you’re doing.’ It took him a couple of games to settle into that.” With three spots to fill, Vogt said there has been a lot of discussion on how to do it. Presently, he likes Travis Bazzana, Kyle Manzardo, Rocchio and Rhys Hoskins as the top four hitters against right-handers. The order will be tweaked a bit against left-handers. The Guardians scored three runs against the Astros in the third inning Friday. Rocchio’s double and Hoskins’ two-run homer gave them a 3-1 lead. But they did not score again in an 9-3 loss. Hoskins says that’s a problem that has to be solved. “We have to try and have quality at-bats for nine innings,” said Hoskins. “That’s even more important because of the guys we’ve lost. Scoring one run an inning goes a long way in a nine-inning game. “We’ve done OK when it comes to scoring a few runs in one inning. But if we can scratch across a few more runs throughout the game, it just makes our bullpen that much better.” Erik Sabrowski, activated before Friday’s game, started the eighth in relief of Daniel Espino. In two-thirds of an inning, he allowed two runs, including an RBI double by Jake Meyers. “It was an unceremonious return,” said Sabrowski, “but I felt good.” Sabrowski went on the injured list May 15 with a sore right elbow. • Manzardo since May 2 leads the Guardians with seven homers, a .277 batting average and a .899 OPS. • The Guardians have used the same five starting pitchers for 77 games this season. They are the only team in the big leagues to use only five starters. • The franchise record for consecutive starts by five starters is 79 by the 1999 Indians.