After splitting their opening four-game series with the Seattle Mariners, the Cleveland Guardians have gotten the same result against the following three squads on their calendar: series wins over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and Kansas City Royals.
Those last two matchups, against the Cubs and Royals, came at home, at Progressive Field, where fans have been able to witness several cool developments and situations.
They have seen their biggest star, Jose Ramirez, take possession of the record for most games played in Guardians history. However, they have also seen rookie Chase DeLauter shine with the bat, Juan Brito’s successful MLB debut, and a dominant pitching staff from top to bottom virtually toy with hitters.
Manager Stephen Vogt referred to the first homestand of the year, and one phrase sums up what the Guardians want to achieve: win as many series as possible.
“They’re ready to go every day, regardless. I think our focus has always been to continue to win series, and we’ve done that to start the year, and if we could do that all year long, it’s going to be a good year. We know we’ve got a tough road trip coming up, but it was a great first homestand. We can’t thank our fans enough for coming out. Even through the cold, they weathered the storm too, and we had a lot more fans than we thought the last couple of days with the weather. So we’re going to really, really, really enjoy this off day tomorrow and get down to Atlanta,” Vogt said, per Cade Cracas.
#Guardians manager Stephen Vogt on the successful homestand, even through unfavorable weather:
"They’re ready to go every day, regardless. I think our focus has always been [to] continue to win series and we’ve done that to start the year and if we could do that all year long,…
— Cade Cracas (@CracasCade) April 8, 2026
The tough Braves, who are 8-5 to open the year despite a myriad of pitching injuries, are up next for Cleveland. Hitters such as Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, and the red-hot Drake Baldwin will be a tough test for a surging Guardians’ pitching staff that has been among the best in baseball in the first few games, particularly the starters.
With Joey Cantillo, Slade Cecconi, and Parker Messick all taking a step forward in their development, Cleveland’s group of starters has been magnificent so far in 2026.
Vogt is very appreciative of his players and their level of commitment, playing through cold and navigating through some key offensive slumps before breaking out on Wednesday’s 10-2 win. It was a much-needed outburst for some of the slumping hitters on the team, although some metrics appear to indicate the offense will enjoy better luck from this point forward.
It was a perfect way to send off the homestand and welcome new challenges ahead.
NEXT: Guardians Urged To Call Up Pitching Prospect To Big Leagues
