When you leave a lot of bodies on the bags, good things are hard to come by.
On Sunday, April 5, the Cleveland Guardians left six players on base in a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs, splitting the series 1-1. While the starting pitching and bullpen arms looked phenomenal for most of the game, the winning run came down to a walk allowed by Connor Brogdon, before a single into right-center field was the separation.
They’ll look to take the series from the Cubs in game two, which will commence roughly 40 minutes after game one concludes.
The Struggles at the Plate
The Guardians’ only hit came from the bat of CJ Kayfus, who knocked his first of the 2026 campaign over the head of Cubs’ right fielder Michael Conforto in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Just a few pitches later, Kayfus was able to end up at third base due to a sacrifice bunt from Steven Kwan. Although they ended the game with one hit, somehow, the Guardians were able to load the bases that inning.
After Kayfus ended up at third, he would be thrown out at home on a fielder’s choice hit into the infield from the bat of Chase DeLauter. DeLauter would occupy first until José Ramírez drew a walk, pushing him to second, before Kyle Manzardo drew one as well, loading the bases.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Cleveland turned to Bo Naylor, who went through a six-pitch at-bat before popping out to shallow center field. It was just the second time in 2026 that the Guardians had bodies at each bag.
The remaining three innings were spotlighted by a walk and a hit by pitch, with neither helping get the Guardians any sort of momentum.
Cleveland finished with six walks drawn, with Brayan Rocchio accounting for two of them. His season OBP is up to .400 with five walks to three strikeouts. He’s also been relatively consistent from the plate, hitting .217 with one double.
Of the Guardians’ bats, the one that struggled the most was Kyle Manzardo’s. He did finish the game with a walk drawn, but went 0-for-3 from the plate with one strikeout. Unfortunately, his early-season struggles have his batting average down to .067 with only two hits in 30 at-bats.
Cleveland desperately needs him to get in a rhythm while at the plate, especially as they prepare for a couple of tough series in the coming weeks.
Pitching Masterclass
Even though the bats weren’t too good in game one, the pitching was great.
Starting arm Slade Cecconi went through six innings, allowing just a single hit and a walk, no runs and struck out six batters. His season ERA dropped to 5.23, a sign that he’s moving in the right direction following his struggles against the Seattle Mariners last Sunday.
Alongside Cecconi, Cleveland got good performances from Tim Herrin and Peyton Pallette, who each pitched one inning. They both didn’t allow any hits, walks or runs, while striking out two batters.
If it weren’t for Brogdon’s little blunder in the eighth inning, there could have been extra innings in The Land.
The loss was handed to him, giving him a 2-1 overall record while on the mound and a 4.50 ERA on the year.
Cleveland will attempt to turn a new cheek and get right back into a groove for game two of the doubleheader. It will act as game three of the series, with the Guardians hoping to avoid dropping a series through the first three of the 2026 campaign.
