Concentrating on contact, not power, Guardians an anomaly October 12 sharefacebooktwitterredditlink NEW YORK (AP) Chris Valaika knows about making contact. He singled off Santiago Casilla back in 2010 on the very first pitch he saw in the major leagues.I wanted to stay aggre sive my first at-bat, Valaika recalled with a smile. That was more of my identity. I dont want to say that I took my playing career and tried to push that on my players.Valaika is in his first season as hitting coach of the Cleveland when their best-of-five AL Division Series resumes Thursday night weather permitting.Clevelands 1,122 strikeouts were the fewest by far in the major leagues and its .254 batting average was sixth best, 10 points above the big league average. The major leagues youngest team was just 29th among the 30 clubs in homers 127 to the Yankees big league-best 254.Manager Terry Francona says the plan is tied to personnel Jarrett Culver Jersey .If we had nine guys that were capable of hitting 40 home runs, our philosophy would be a little different, because you just try to put your players in the best position to succeed, he said before Wednesdays workout. You dont try to ask them to do things they cant, and you try to do the things they do well more often. Thats kind of Coaching 101.Steven Kwan didnt swing and mi s until the 116th pitch he faced in the major leagues, in his sixth game when he swung over a curveball from Cincinnatis Nick Lodolo. The Jimmy Butler Jersey contact streak was the longest in the major leagues at the start of a career since at least 2000, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, and the first mi s came in Kwans 40th swing.Kwan finished ninth in the AL in batting (.298) and on-base percentage (.397). His 9.0% strikeout rate was second in the major leagues behind Minnesotas Luis Arraez and the fifth-best since Statcast started tracking in 2015.In an age when batters are browbeaten with launch angles aimed to produce longballs, the Guardians are an anomaly.I think that came from Tito early in spring training, talking about we are going to have to do the little things right to win ballgames," Kwan said, referring to his manager by his nickname. First and third, getting the run over, sac flies. Thats just kind of the identity from day one, and luckily we were able to kind of work through that. In terms of the home runs, weve done a really good job this year of keeping our head down and not listening to any of the noise.Contact has become scant in the playoffs. Even with a two-game opening-round sweep of Tampa Bay, the Guardians have scored four runs and struck out 35 times.Still, the approach doesnt Andrew Wiggins Jersey change.We knew coming into this year that we were going to have to be different," Valaika said. "So that was a big part of when we talked about continuing to make contact, have a two-strike approach, situational hitting. I think a lot of teams talk about that, but I thought our guys did a really good job of making that part of our identity.Shane Bieber, a two-time All-Star and the 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner, faces Aaron Judge & Co. for Cleveland and left-hander Nestor Cortes will be on the mound for the Yankees. Rain is forecast, and a postponement would lead to the teams po sibly playing four games in a row.Biebers 2021 season was limited by a strained right shoulder. He was 4-6 in late July this season before going 9-2 with a 2.04 ERA in his last 13 starts. He pitched three-hit ball over seven innings against the Rays in Fridays wild-card opener, allowing only Jose Siris sixth-inning solo homer. Cortes was a first-time All-Star and went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA. With multiple arm slots and an occasional hesitation delivery, hes become a fan favorite.Hes had to scratch and claw for everything hes gotten. Hes risen from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson Jersey the ranks of non-prospect, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. He combines that, `Im going to treat this like the last game I might ever pitch. Hes competitive as heck, but he has a lot of fun doing what hes doing. A 36th-round draft pick in 2013, Cortes was taken by Baltimore in the 2017 winter meeting draft, returned the following April, traded to Seattle in November 2019 and re-signed by the Yankees as a minor league free agent before the 2021 season.Cortes was 1-0 in two starts this year against the Guardians, striking out 14 in 12 1/3 innings and holding batters to 4 for 40.He glowed with his reception during Tuesday nights introductions.It felt super cool. My parents were in the stands and after the game, they said, `Man, we couldnt believe what we heard out there. So it was kind of surreal for me, Cortes said. I remember walking up to the line and everyone is like, you got the biggest ovation ..."He paused and finished: "Until Judge came up, obviously.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports in this topic American League Cleveland Guardians Major League Baseball Jose Siri Shane Bieber Luis Arraez Aaron Judge Nestor Cortes New York Yankees share Ottawa hosts Los Angeles after Giroux's 2-goal game The Ottawa Senators host the Los Angeles Kings after Claude Giroux's two-goal game against the San Jose Sharks in the Senators' 5-2 win 40 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Penguins host the Blue Jackets following Kapanen's hat trick The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Columbus Blue Jackets after Kasperi Kapanen's hat trick against the St. Louis Blues in the Penguins' 6-2 win 40 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Ducks bring losing streak into game against the Hurricanes The Anaheim Ducks aim to end their six-game losing streak when they play the Carolina Hurricanes 41 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Blackhawks face the Metropolitan Division-leading Devils The Chicago Blackhawks Juan Hernangomez Jersey face the top-ranked team in the Metropolitan Division, the New Jersey Devils 41 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Tampa Bay in action against Detroit following overtime victory The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Detroit Red Wings after the Lightning took down the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime 41 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS