Chappie's Grave

Just like that, the Guardians are on a losing streak. Washington jumped on Cleveland early and held on late in a 6-3 win. It's Cleveland’s second straight loss and third in four games, and comes on the heels of a 7-game winning streak. The baseball season might be a marathon with 162 games, but it comes at your fast. The night after Tanner Bibee gave up five home runs,  Joey Cantillo could only give Cleveland two innings. He was beaten up for four runs, on three hits, and walked four. For the second straight night, Washington’s James Wood homered. This one was a 2-run blast and was part of Washington’s four-run second inning.  It was Wood’s 15th HR of the year. The loss dropped the Guardians to 32-25. Brayan Rocchio led the Cleveland offense with a 3-for-3 night at the plate, and he scored a run. The Guardians’ shortstop and No. 9 hitter might be its best hitter thus far in 2026, with a .299 average. Washington, which leads all of Major League Baseball in runs scored, improved...

The Guardians suffered a beatdown on May 25 as the Washington Nationals slammed six home runs in a 10-2 win. Guardians starter Tanner Bibee gave up five home runs in just three innings of work as he dropped to 0-7 on the year. Cleveland fell to 32-24 with the loss. James Wood led the game off for Washington with a home run, and the rout was on before a Memorial Day crowd of 25,494 at Progressive Field. Rhys Hoskins hit his fifth home run of the year, a towering shot down the left field line to the home run porch. 

The Guardians got back on track with a 3-1 win over the Phillies on May 24th. Travis Bazzana slammed a home run into the second deck, and the Guardians got great starting pitching from Parker Messick as they won in the City of Brotherly Love for the second time over the weekend. Cleveland won 1-0 on Friday night for its seventh straight win. But Philly came back to win on Saturday night. That set up the Sunday matinee. Messick was again superb. The lefty shut out the Phillies over 5 2/3 innings while allowing five hits and striking out six. Steven Kwan collected three hits and drove in a run, and Daniel Schneeman scored a run and drove in a run for Cleveland, which improved to 32-23 with the win and expanded its first-place lead over the second-place Chicago White Sox to 4 1/2 games. The White Sox lost to the Giants in San Francisco, 8-5. Cade Smith picked up his 18th save by pitching a scoreless ninth inning. 

 The Guardians enter the third game of the series in Philadelphia on the Sunday before Memorial Day in a very good spot as they sit in first place in the AL Central by 3 1/2 games. That lead was produced in part on a 7-game win streak, which included a four-game sweep on the road of the rival Detroit Tigers. Let's look at the infield that taken the field for manager Stephen Vogt for much of  2026 campaign. First base has been a rotation with Kyle Manzardo, Rhys Hoskins, and Chase DeLauter. Manzardo has improved greatly as a fielder and gives the Guardians left-handed pop off the bench. DeLauter has been one of the premier rookies. Hoskins has provided right-handed power and a discerning eye at the plate. Second base is now manned by highly touted rookie Travis Bazzana. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 Draft has not been overmatched in the big leagues since being called up earlier in the year. He gets on base via the walk, can steal a base, and has shown some power at the pla...

So long to the seven-game winning streak. In a game played in a steady rain, the Guardians could not generate any offense as they fell to the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0, on May 23. Rookie Travis Bazzana was moved to the lead-off spot and doubled in four plate appearances. Phillies starter Zack Wheeler struck out six and scattered two hits to pick up the win and go 4-0 on the season. Bryce Harper collected three hits and scored two runs, and Bryson Stott drove in a pair of runs to lead the Phillies. Cleveland dropped to 31-23 with the loss. Slade Cecconi started and worked five innings. He allowed three runs, all earned, while giving up six hits and striking out five. Cecconi dropped to 3-5 with the loss. Citizens Bank Park filled up with 36, 125 fans who sat through an hour and 56-minute rain delay. The game was played in 53-degree temperatures with a 13 mph wind and steady rain. Guardians play-by-play man Tom Hamilton, at times, seemed bewildered that the game was being played in such...

 Kyle Manzardo slammed a pinch-hit home run in the top of the ninth inning, and Gavin Williams pitched another gem as Cleveland knocked off Philadelphia, 1-0, on May 22. The Guardians won their seventh straight game and improved to 31-22. Chicago also won, so Cleveland maintained its 3 1/2 game first-place lead. Williams was superb again. The hard-throwing right-hander worked eight innings, struck out eight while not walking a batter, and scattered four hits. He improved to 7-3 with the win. Cade Smith pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 17th save. The Cleveland offense had been stymied by Philadelphia starter Christopher Sanchez, who limited Cleveland to four hits while striking out six and walking two. Sanchez extended his scoreless streak to 37 2/3 innings with his effort. Jhoan Duran came on to pitch the ninth inning for Philadelphia and gave up the homer to Manzardo. It was Manzardo’s second pinch-hit home run of the year and his fifth overall. The game was played in a li...