ANAHEIM - The Guardians spent Tuesday night digging out of a hole, then digging a little deeper when the Angels kept punching back. In the end, Cleveland did enough to win the kind of game that can tilt a road trip: an 8-6, 10-inning comeback that featured a little bit of everything.
Steven Kwan collected five hits, matching his career high. Angel Martinez saved a run with a leaping catch at the center-field fence. And José Ramírez looked every bit like the middle-of-the-order force Cleveland has been waiting for, going 3 for 6 with three doubles and five RBI.
The Guardians erased deficits of 5-0 and 6-5, then finished off their biggest rally of the season with two runs in the 10th. Kwan opened the inning with a single to right that moved automatic runner Brayan Rocchio to third, and Ramírez followed with a double off Blake Weiman that drove in both runs. Cade Smith worked the 10th for his 35th save in 40 chances, and Erik Sabrowski earned the win after striking out the side in the ninth.
The victory was Cleveland’s sixth in a row and pushed the club to 5-0 on its trip through Denver and Anaheim. It also kept the Guardians 2 1/2 games behind the White Sox in the AL Central while they held onto the third wild card spot.
Ramírez’s night stood out beyond the numbers. He has been grinding since returning from hamate bone surgery on his left hand, but this was the kind of swing-heavy, damage-filled performance that can change the tone of an offense in a hurry.
The Angels, though, made the Guardians work for every inch.
They jumped Gavin Williams for five runs in the first two innings and sent him to the dugout before he could get through the second. Vaughn Grissom got the damage started with a two-run homer just inside the left-field foul pole in the first. In the second, Christian Moore launched his own homer, Gustavo Campero singled, Denzer Guzman doubled in a run, and Zach Neto added an RBI single before Williams walked Mike Trout and was pulled.
Williams gave up five runs on six hits in 1 1/3 innings, the second-shortest start of his career. The only shorter outing came Sept. 7, 2024 against the Dodgers, when he lasted just two-thirds of an inning.
Cleveland’s offense had already wasted some chances by then, stranding five runners in the first two innings against Angels rookie right-hander Walbert Urena. The Guardians opened the game with Kwan’s single and a walk to Travis Bazzana, but Urena escaped. In the second, Angel Martinez and Patrick Bailey walked, Petey Halpin reached when Urena threw poorly to first on a sacrifice bunt attempt, and Rocchio rolled into a double play with the bases loaded.
The comeback started to take shape in the fourth. Bailey walked to begin the inning, Kwan reached on an infield hit, and Travis Bazzana doubled home both runners to cut the deficit to 5-2.
Ramírez then doubled to right-center to score Bazzana and make it 5-3, ending Urena’s night. He allowed three runs, but also issued five walks in 3 2/3 innings.
Cleveland tied it in the fifth with a series of singles. Martinez started the rally with a one-out hit off José Fermin, Halpin followed with a single to center, and Rocchio singled to right to make it 5-4. Kwan then singled to right for his third hit of the night, bringing home Halpin and knotting the score at 5-5.
The Angels answered right away. Logan Allen, who entered in relief of Craig Yoho, saw Vaughn Grissom turn his third pitch of the inning into his second home run of the game, putting Los Angeles back on top 6-5. Allen, in just his third appearance since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus, settled in after that and gave Cleveland three solid innings.
That set the stage for the late push.
Before the 10th, the Guardians tied it again in the eighth. Kwan ripped a single to center that Trout nearly caught with a diving effort, giving Kwan his fourth hit and extending a stretch that has now seen him reach base three or more times in 17 games since the All-Star break. Bazzana’s groundout moved Kwan up, and Ramírez doubled again to bring him home and make it 6-6.
The defense had one more huge moment left. Martinez, who had shifted from left to center in the eighth, went up at the wall and robbed Trout of what looked like a go-ahead two-run homer.
By the end, the Guardians had the game they needed: a comeback win, a star turn from Ramírez, and another night when Kwan kept the lineup moving.
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The waiver-wire dance that used to send fan bases into a panic is still around, but it does not carry quite the same sting it once did. With the Cincinnati Reds putting Eugenio Surez and TJ Friedl on waivers, the move serves as a reminder of how MLB clubs can still try to create flexibility late in the season, even if the most likely outcome is that both players stay put after the process runs its course.
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The early returns have been strong enough to draw notice beyond the clubhouse, with national insider Jon Heyman pointing to Adell as one of the deadlines most successful pickups. Stephen Vogt and Steven Kwan have both praised the impact he has made, and the bigger question now is how Cleveland uses that production as the lineup keeps adjusting around him. [Read more 🡒]