Getting back on track thanks to Rocchio

What a difference a day makes, 24 wee little hours. A day ago, we were ready to write off the 2026 Guardians after the bullpen meltdown in a 6-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Things are looking a whole lot brighter on this, the evening of April 18, after Cleveland dispatched of Baltimore 4-2.
Starting pitcher Gavin Williams was dominant, shortstop Brayan Rocchio hit a big three-run home run, and slump-ridden catcher Bo Naylor hit his first home run of the year as the Guardians improved to 12-10 on the year.
Williams pitched like the No. 1 that maybe he is becoming. He struck out 11 and allowed a single run in seven innings of work.
MLB.com called it an 11-K gem. It also improved him to 3-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to a skinny 2.12.
Played on a 53-degree night under overcast skies, 20,783 attended the proceedings.
Cade Smith struck out the side to record his fifth save of the year.
Baltimore starter Dean Kramer was the hard-luck loser. He allowed just two hits and struck out seven, but gave up that three-run blast to Rocchio. He deserved better, but life ain’t fair, buttercup.
Cleveland catcher Bo Naylor homered in the bottom of the 8th inning to increase the Cleveland lead. Naylor increased his lowly batting average to .156 with the homer.
B-more centric
The Orioles great young shortstop Gunnar Henderson’s two hits led the Baltimore offense. He crushed his seventh homer of the year when he caught up with an off-speed pitch from Cleveland reliever Hunter Gaddis and deposited it deep into the right field seats, a high-arching blast that Gaddis realized was gone the moment it left his pitching hand.
Oriole slugging first baseman Pete Alonso had a night to forget. He recorded a golden sombrero, striking out four times. He was swinging at such bad pitches and looked so flummoxed at the plate that Guardian TV analyst Gimenez said Alonso was “seeing ghosts.”
The phrase is one used in sports and refers to a player being overwhelmed.
What’s next: The two teams wrap the four-game series. Lefty Joey Cantillo takes the mound for Cleveland, while Trevor Rogers, a lefty, will start for Baltimore. The first pitch is slated for 1:40 p.m.
Watching the game on TV
I watched the game on the tube tonight. Love the Guardian broadcast team. Andre Knott is the best. He’s the on-the-field reporter. Is typically stationed in the dugout. Matt Underwood is the lead announcer and Rick Manning, who came up with the team as a 20-year-old outfielder in 1975, is typically the color analyst. On this night vs. Baltimore it turned out to be Gimenez, who isn’t bad.Pictures were great. Announcing great. My seat was spectacular. So Was eating a pb and j when Rocchio hit his bomb. 

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