CLEVELAND -- The Guardians added a monumental victory to Cleveland’s franchise record books on Saturday. For the 2026 ballclub, it was significant in its own right.
The Guardians beat the Padres, 6-1, at Progressive Field on Saturday, securing the 10,000th win in Cleveland franchise history. They joined the Red Sox and Yankees as the only teams to reach that milestone, among franchises established since 1900.
“That’s an unbelievable number to get to, and I’m honored to be a part of it,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.
It couldn’t have come at a better time for the reeling Guardians (60-64), who improved to 9-18 since the All-Star break and 4-9 in August. That second-half slide has put the ballclub's season in danger of slipping away, and a recurring theme has been the Guardians’ inability to play a complete game.
We saw it in Friday’s 7-5 loss, when starter Gavin Williams delivered his shortest outing of the season on a night Cleveland was productive offensively. Saturday, the Guardians played complementary baseball, led by starter Joey Cantillo. The lefty allowed one run on one hit and three walks over six innings.
“This is what we've been talking about, a game like this,” Vogt said. “Joey was outstanding. The bullpen was great. Moving runners, causing chaos on the bases, that looked like us tonight. It was a lot of fun to see.”
The Guardians sit one game back of the Rangers for the final AL Wild Card spot, with four teams sandwiched between. Here are three keys to Saturday’s win.
1. Cantillo delivers
Cantillo took the mound Saturday for the first time in six days. He threw one inning against the White Sox on Sunday before a two-hour, 23-minute rain delay ended his day prematurely. Cantillo said he felt rested Saturday, and it showed.
He issued a leadoff walk to Fernando Tatis Jr. in the first inning, who eventually scored on a Manny Machado 5-4-3 double play ball. Cantillo held San Diego to just two walks after that.
“Obviously that was really unfortunate. I’ve never really had a situation like that where just the ball gets taken out of your hands,” Cantillo said of his Chicago start. “I felt good today and it was just one of those things, ‘All right, hey, let's pitch as deep into the game as we can and try to help us win.’”
Saturday marked Cantillo’s first time pitching six-plus innings since June 26 against Seattle. Colin Holderman, Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski did not allow a baserunner over three innings in relief.
2. J-Ram kicks off steady flow of offense
The Guardians are at their best offensively when José Ramírez is producing. Saturday was encouraging. He doubled in the first inning and scored on a Jo Adell RBI double.
Ramírez entered Saturday batting .197 (12-for-61) in 18 games since he came off the injured list. He has continued to feel better physically and at the plate, but this has been a process for the 33-year-old.
Ramírez’s double off lefty Wandy Peralta had a 103.5 mph exit velocity. That is the fourth-hardest-hit ball he’s logged since he came off the IL. He later drove in Steven Kwan with a sac fly to right in the fifth that went a Statcast-projected 340 feet.
Everyone in the Guardians' lineup reached base on Saturday. With Ramírez back and the Deadline additions of Adell and Nathaniel Lowe, this lineup has felt deeper.
“Right at the Deadline,” Kwan said, “it was kind of that idea of, ‘Wow, we got some really good pieces and we got José coming back. We're going to be really unstoppable.’ Today we kind of saw that all come together.”
Patrick Bailey (second inning) and Kwan (fifth) each tacked on an RBI double.
3. A hint of Guards Ball
Cleveland’s “Guards Ball” identity hasn’t been as prevalent this season as years’ past. We got a sampling of it on an eventful double-steal in the seventh.
Chase DeLauter was on first and Kwan on third with Adell batting against right-hander Randy Vásquez. DeLauter took off for second base, which drew a throw from catcher Freddy Fermín. The minute that throw left his hand, Kwan took off for the plate and ultimately scored.
The play didn’t stop there. Fermín’s throw squirted off second baseman Jake Cronenworth's glove. DeLauter recognized that immediately and took off for third. Cronenworth fired a toss to Machado, which hit a sliding DeLauter in the back. DeLauter got up and scored to give Cleveland a 6-1 lead.
Cronenworth was handed a fielding error and a throwing error on the play.
“That felt kind of reminiscent of old Guards Ball, so that was a lot of fun,” Kwan said.