The Guardians let another one slip Thursday, and the damage went beyond a single loss. Cleveland fell 6-3 to the Toronto Blue Jays after walking nine hitters and committing two errors, dropping its second straight series and sliding to 70-70.
That result tightens the race in a hurry. Toronto is now just a half-game back of Cleveland for the third and final American League Wild Card spot, and the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers could also pull within half a game later Thursday if they beat the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, respectively.
The loss also handed Toronto the season series, 4-2. That matters if these teams end up tied for postseason positioning. If Cleveland and Toronto finish with the same record and are deadlocked for the final Wild Card spot, the Guardians would be out.
Tanner Bibee took the loss and had a rough afternoon from the start. He gave up five runs on four hits and five walks across four innings, struck out four, and absorbed his 15th loss of the season against just five wins.
Cleveland did strike first. With two outs and runners on first and second, Angel Genao lined a ground ball single to center field that brought home Jo Adell.
Toronto answered in the next inning when Sean Keys singled in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to tie it.
The Blue Jays broke the game open in the fifth. Nathan Lukes ripped a two-run double with the bases loaded, scoring Ernie Clement and Brandon Valenzuela. Guerrero followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Brett Bateman, and Jesus Sanchez added an RBI single to make it 5-1.
The Guardians punched back in the bottom half. With the bases loaded and two outs, Austin Hedges delivered a two-run single that sent Genao and Adell across, trimming the deficit to two.
Toronto added an insurance run in the ninth when Ernie Clement singled off Carlos Hernandez and drove in Josh Smith.
Cleveland’s defense didn’t help its cause. Bazzana committed his seventh error of the season, and Matt Festa was charged with his third. If the Guardians want to stay in the October chase, they’ll need cleaner baseball than this.
Steven Kwan was Cleveland’s only player with two hits, while Hedges finished with two RBIs. Adell scored twice, Chase DeLauter had the club’s lone extra-base hit with a double, and the slumping Brayan Rocchio went 0-for-3.
After wins on Sunday and Tuesday, the Guardians have now dropped two in a row. They’ll try to get back on track Friday when they open a crucial four-game set at home against the Detroit Tigers. Cleveland will play two games Friday, then one each on Saturday and Sunday, before heading on the road for another big matchup against the Orioles.
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Brayan Rocchio Is Putting Cleveland In A Tough Lineup Spot
Brayan Rocchio spent the first half of the season giving Cleveland a real boost with the bat, but the second half has looked nothing like that version of him. The downturn was severe enough to send him to Triple-A in early 2025, and it has turned what once looked like a stable middle-infield situation into a much trickier decision for the Guardians as they sort out their infield plans.
Stephen Vogt now has three names in the mix for those spots, with Rocchio competing against Angel Genao and Travis Bazzana. If the offense does not turn back in Rocchios favor, Cleveland could lean toward Genao and Bazzana and leave Rocchio in a reserve role, a sharp shift for a player who not long ago seemed positioned to hold a much more prominent place in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Parker Messick Is Giving Cleveland Fans A New Reason To Believe
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Messicks rise has also pushed him into the conversation for AL Rookie of the Year, a reminder that Clevelands recent success is being driven by more than just veteran steadiness. The Guardians still have work to do in both the Wild Card hunt and the division race, but Messicks arrival has given fans something beyond the standings to watch, with the Kalshi odds reflecting just how much his season has started to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Playoff Push Just Ran Into A Frustrating Defensive Problem
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A sloppy second inning turned into the kind of inning that lingers, with Travis Bazzana and Angel Genao both involved in the breakdown that opened the door for the Blue Jays to pile on. Cleveland wound up staring at an 11-0 defeat, and the frustration was not just the final score but the way the Guardians kept giving Toronto extra life when they could least afford it. [Read more 🡒]