Guardians ride into All-Star break on a high after Miami sweep

MIAMI -- The Guardians really get to enjoy their All-Star break after a very successful weekend in Miami.

On Sunday, Cleveland scored twice in the first and went on to beat the Marlins, 5-2, to complete a three-game sweep at loanDepot park.

With the three victories in Miami, Cleveland goes into the break riding a four-game winning streak.

It was the first sweep for the Guardians since they took four in Detroit against the Tigers on May 18-21. The Marlins were swept at home for the first time since Colorado won three straight in Miami on June 2-4, 2025.

At 51-46, Cleveland goes into the break tied atop the AL Central standings with the White Sox.

“The All-Star break doesn’t kill your momentum unless you allow it to,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “Really proud of our guys and how they finished this road trip off. Really, the last month, with all the ups and downs we have gone through, it was fun to finish it this way.”

The Guardians, who outscored the Marlins 12-5 over the weekend, put pressure on Miami pitching in the final two games -- having at least one baserunner in all 18 innings of the final two games of the series.

Sunday, Travis Bazzana opened things up with a leadoff walk, stole second, then came around on a single by Brayan Rocchio for a 1-0 lead. Rocchio scored on a one-out single by Kyle Manzardo.

“I feel like we played some really good baseball,” Bazzana said. “We were good defensively when it mattered, got hits with runners in scoring position, different things. We just executed. Our pitchers got ahead in the count, dominated when it mattered most.”

Miami made it 2-1 in the third on a two-out single from Xavier Edwards, but that was as close as the now-cooled off Marlins would get.

Miami, which came into the series on a six-game winning streak, watched Cleveland make it 3-1 in the fifth on a solo shot to the second deck in right from Rocchio.

In the seventh, Kahlil Watson drove in Bazzana from third on a two-out chopper up the middle for a 4-1 lead.

Rookie Chase DeLauter smashed his 11th home run in the ninth, depositing a fastball from Miami reliever Pete Fairbanks up in the second deck to make it 5-1.

DeLauter is the first Cleveland rookie with 11 home runs through the team's first 97 games since Bobby Bradley in 2021.

Joey Cantillo (8-4) gave the Guardians another solid start in the series, giving up one run off six hits with nine strikeouts in five innings.

Cantillo tied a season high with those nine K's, and has now hit that total four times this year, including back-to-back starts at the end of June.

“I think the biggest thing is, every day we’re giving our team a chance to win,” Cantillo said of Cleveland's starting pitching. “We’re continuing to develop, throwing our best stuff over the plate, one pitch at a time.”

Cleveland’s bullpen did the rest with Franco Aleman, Hunter Gaddis and Shawn Armstrong combining to throw three hitless innings before Cade Smith came on in the ninth, allowing a solo shot from Griffin Conine before sealing the win.

“Joey was outstanding,” Vogt said. “He kept them off the board, one run through five, so he did his job. Then, the bullpen took it from there. That was an outstanding performance pitching-wise. [Miami] has a really good offense. I thought we pitched extremely well the last three days. Credit to our pitchers, our catchers and our coaches for a great series.”

The Guardians are now off until Friday night, when they open up a three-game series against the visiting Pirates at Progressive Field.

That set starts a seven-game homestand, with AL Central rival Minnesota coming in for four after the Pirates series.

Come the second half, the Guardians expect to get back injured star José Ramírez (left hamate fracture), as well as outfielder Angel Martínez (left foot fracture).

“This team has definitely been battling, and everyone knows about the injuries,” Cantillo said. “Going into the break with some wins is always good, and it brings good momentum.

“This team knows we have a lot of work to do, we have a lot of games and a lot of big moments to be had. But we’re going to keep building on it and get ready for the second act.”