Guardians find life at plate in Ohio Cup victory for boost before Trade Deadline

CINCINNATI -- The Ohio Cup is coming home, and the Guardians got out of Cincinnati with a series win. As bad as things have been in recent days, Cleveland ended a poor road trip on a high note.

“It was a huge series, especially coming off a tough weekend, a tough road trip,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Just really proud of the guys.”

The Guardians beat the Reds, 6-1, on Wednesday in the rubber match of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park, in which Cleveland also won the Ohio Cup for the 11th time in the past 12 seasons. The Guardians improved to 56-54 with the win, while remaining 1 1/2 games behind the first-place White Sox in the AL Central standings.

The last time Cleveland had a .500 record was May 10, when it was 21-21. This trip threatened to change that, at a crucial point on the calendar with Monday's Trade Deadline looming. The Guardians were swept by the Rays over the weekend. They went 1-6 over a seven-game span entering Wednesday, during which they were shut out three times.

For all the ups and downs the Guardians have had this season, whether recently or during the five-week stretch José Ramírez spent on the injured list, they have kept their head above .500. They preserved that streak in Cincinnati with their first series win post-All-Star break.

“It's huge,” outfielder Steven Kwan said of the series win. “Just trying to collect those series wins and move forward. We’ve got some off-days coming up, which is going to be really nice. I think if we can manage series wins, resting, recovering, and just kind of rinse and repeat, I think we're going to be in a good spot.”

That’s also reflective of the general sentiment in the Guardians' clubhouse right now. The players are taking things day by day and focused on what they can control on the field.

A lot goes into any front office’s decision to buy, sell or to stand pat this time of the year. Record is just one piece of the pie. That being said, in a crowded American League postseason picture, an extended poor stretch can sway the pendulum the wrong way.

The Guardians have a chance to keep the pendulum swinging in the right direction heading into the Deadline.

“It’s not a secret what time of year it is,” said starter Joey Cantillo, who struck out eight batters over four scoreless innings on Wednesday. “I think every game we play is really important. We haven’t necessarily gotten off to the best start in the second half [5-8] that we would have wanted to.

“Obviously every game is important, and obviously these ones [in Cincinnati] have been even more important just with the tough last series. It'll be a big homestand to get off on the right foot and continue to just keep rolling.”

It’s no secret the Guardians’ biggest need is help for the offense, which, to its credit, had some life on Wednesday.

The Guardians scored four times in the fifth inning, when they sent all nine batters to the plate. Travis Bazzana opened the scoring with a bases-loaded RBI single, and Reds starter Brady Singer walked Kyle Manzardo and Gabriel Arias to force in a pair of runs.

The Guardians have struggled with runners in scoring position throughout this season, but certainly lately. Entering Wednesday, they hit .145 (8-for-55) with a .418 OPS in those spots over their previous seven games.

Manzardo and Arias’ walks in the fourth kept the line moving.

“I think you kind of feel like there's gonna be a big inning coming from that,” Kwan said. “The joke was obviously we’ve kind of had trouble getting guys in from third with less than two outs, so we're just like, ‘Why have we been swinging? Let's walk.’ It's so simple.

“Those are the kind of at-bats I think that really preach team at-bats, and I would imagine as a pitcher, it's got to be kind of deflating as well.”

Manzardo later belted his team-leading 13th home run of the season to provide some insurance. The solo shot in the seventh inning went a Statcast-projected 425 feet. He earned the 2026 Frank Robinson Most Outstanding Player Award after slashing .368/.500/1.105 with four homers and nine RBIs in six games against the Reds.

“It's cool. It'll be fun to look back on,” Manzardo said. “Just a cool little side quest in the season.”