CLEVELAND -- On afternoons like Sunday, you can really envision the possibilities and dream about the potential of Guardians hitters who are growing up before our eyes.
The Guardians belted six home runs on Sunday en route to beating the Reds, 10-3, at Progressive Field to secure the three-game series. It marked the most home runs Cleveland has hit since Aug. 15, 2019, against the Yankees (seven). It marked the franchise’s most at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario since April 30, 2013, against the Phillies (also seven).
A new brand of Guards Ball, perhaps?
“Yeah, that’s the idea,” first baseman Kyle Manzardo said with a laugh. “Pretty cool.”
Manzardo hit a two-run homer in the third inning and a solo shot in the fifth. Brayan Rocchio added a solo blast in the fourth, and Chase DeLauter (first inning), Angel Martínez (seventh) and José Ramírez (eighth) each hit a two-run shot. It was Ramírez’s first homer since April 19.
Guards Ball will never go out of style; it boils down to good fundamentals and doing the little things well. Every team should aspire to play that way. But the Guardians can expand that definition as the up-and-coming players in their lineup continue to come into their own.
"We're young, right?” manager Stephen Vogt said when asked if there’s untapped power with his team. “A lot of people don't get into their power until 25 to 28 [years old], and we're starting to get into those age ranges for a lot of our guys.
“As you get older, you learn when to take shots. You learn how to attack certain pitches.”
The Guardians entered Sunday tied for 18th in the Majors in home runs (44). Sure, it was also an unseasonably 79 degrees at first pitch. But we’ve continually seen signs that this is not the same offense that struggled throughout 2025.
Cleveland also began Sunday ranked 18th in runs per game (4.26), which is a marked improvement from last year (3.98, 28th). The lineup is deeper. It’s receiving contributions from rookies DeLauter and Travis Bazzana, and returnees Martínez, Rocchio and Manzardo, among others. There’s room for guys to continue growing with experience.
“We've got a lot of guys that haven’t necessarily done it for a super long time, but a lot of us have kind of got these big league reps,” Manzardo said when asked about Cleveland’s untapped power.
“You're seeing different guys kind of blossom into who they are, which is really cool.”
Manzardo hit a pair of blasts to record his third career multi-homer game. He also went deep twice on July 29 and Aug. 10, 2025.
Entering Sunday, Manzardo had a .314/.385/.514 slash line over his past 12 games with two doubles, one triple and one home run with four walks and eight strikeouts. That stretch began May 2, when he belted a pinch-hit three-run homer against the A’s in West Sacramento.
In his first 29 games this season, Manzardo (who belted 27 homers last season) logged a .178/.265/.233 slash line with two doubles, one homer, and nine walks compared to 35 strikeouts.
“He’s starting to hit the ball hard again, and he's finding some hits, which is great,” Vogt said Sunday morning. “Kyle’s one of our best hitters and has been for a couple years. We're really starting to see him square the ball up.”
DeLauter’s two-run blast off Reds starter Brady Singer in the first inning marked his first home run at Progressive Field since the Guardians’ home opener on April 3. He has been steady near the top of the order (.861 OPS in 43 games).
Martínez has gone deep in consecutive games and in four of his past five contests. He has nine homers through 44 games this season. He had 11 in 139 contests last year.
Ramírez has been impacting the Guardians in other ways this season while his power has been down. He entered Sunday first in MLB with 20 steals, but his ability to slug could take the Guardians to another level.
Ramírez showed a sigh of relief after going through the celebration line in the Guardians’ dugout after his home run. He raised his hands in the air and said, “Thank God,” as seen in a video posted on social media by sideline reporter Cayleigh Griffin.
Baseball is a difficult game. In its simplest form, it’s straightforward -- as the Guardians showed Sunday.
“We're trying to have quality at-bats and we're trying to square up mistakes,” Vogt said. “They threw us six homer balls today and we hit them all.”