CLEVELAND -- The story of the Guardians’ first 100 games this season has been one of ups and downs -- with some steeper than others -- and a journey that has them sitting with a .500 record.
Certainly, they’d rather be in a better position at this stage of the campaign. But then again, considering where they were less than a month ago, they also figure to take the first 100 games as something with which they can build upon,
The Guardians reached the century mark of their 2025 season Tuesday night, when they beat the Orioles, 6-3, at Progressive Field. With the win, Cleveland sits at a clean 50-50.
The win marked the Guardians’ 10th win in their past 12 games, a stretch that has come in the immediate aftermath of their 10-game losing streak that spanned June 26-July 6. They are .500 or better for the first time since the morning of June 28, when their 10-game skid sat at just two.
“I love where we're at,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “Obviously, you want to be higher up [in the standings]. You want to have more wins. But given the way that this first 3 1/2 almost four months has gone, we have a 62-game season left.
“Let's go. Let's not stop.”
The Guardians came out of the break with the easiest remaining strength of schedule in the Majors (.476), which included 13 straight games against sub-.500 teams leading up the the July 31 Trade Deadline. Given that schedule, Cleveland knew it had an opportunity to build upon a 6-1 run into the All-Star break.
Getting to .500 is only one step of the goal, and though it has only been two weeks, it has felt rewarding for a team that has preached "better times ahead" all year.
“Our guys have been playing great baseball for the last two weeks,” Vogt said. “And like we said, even during that 10-game stretch, we weren't playing horrible. That's why we just have to stay the course. Continue to work, continue to get better.”
The Guardians have scored 75 runs over their past 12 games (6.25 per game). They scored 72 runs in the entire month of June (25 games), and just 15 runs during their 10-game skid.
José Ramírez got Cleveland on the board first on Tuesday, when he crushed a solo homer off O’s starter Brandon Young in the first inning. It marked his seventh homer in the past 12 games (since July 7) and his 700th career extra-base hit. He trails only Earl Averill (725) in franchise history.
Ramírez has hit three homers over five games since the break.
“Believe it or not, I love Hosey hitting in the three-hole,” Vogt quipped, in a tongue-in-cheek reference to his early-season attempt at Ramírez batting second in the order.
Ramírez’s strong performance out of the break is perhaps no coincidence. He opted out of the Midsummer Classic to focus on recovery, including for a sore right ankle stemming from a sprain he suffered on May 2 in Toronto.
“I feel that rest was really important for me,” Ramírez said through team interpreter Agustin Rivero.
The Guardians will also need the efforts of others in their lineup to make a push down the stretch, and they got just that on Tuesday. Angel Martínez went 3-for-5 as he tied a career high in hits. He scored on a Kyle Manzardo RBI single in the third, then he tacked on an RBI single of his own in the sixth.
Manzardo has hit safely in five of his past six games and driven in seven runs over that span.
“It’s just the focus, especially with the younger guys, to be able to focus for the game,” Ramírez said of the offense’s recent success. “I’m happy with the results. Sometimes you don't get the results you want, because it’s a long season. But I’m happy with how they're playing the game.”
Starter Joey Cantillo allowed one run on two hits and four walks over five innings. He struck out five and tossed a season-high 95 pitches in his fourth start since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus to take Luis Ortiz’s spot in the rotation on July 3.
“We've seen a couple outings now that the more I'm filling up the zone, the more I'm challenging guys, good things are going to happen,” Cantillo said. “Being in the starting role again, it's understanding you’ve got to pitch deep into games and got to fill up a strike zone. That's something that we're always going to work on.”