Cleveland came home from a grueling seven-game road trip and wasted absolutely no time reminding Progressive Field what this team is capable of.
The Guardians defeated the Minnesota Twins 6-4 on Friday night to open the home series, improving to 21-19 on the season. It was a game that had a little bit of everything.
Parker Messick bounced back in a big way.
Coming off his first loss of the season, which came against Oakland in a start where he surrendered three home runs, Messick went 5.2 innings Friday, allowing just one earned run on seven hits while striking out seven and walking one. He now leads all rookie pitchers in baseball in wins, tied with Washington’s Foster Griffin.
Travis Bazzana also hit his first career major league home run.
“Travis Bazzana belts first Guardians home run,” the Guardians posted on X.
Go Bazzanas. 🍌#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/XRCuPztFLz
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) May 8, 2026
That home run was the defining moment of a massive first inning for Cleveland. Bazzana worked the count to 1-1 before launching the third slider he saw into the Twins bullpen in center field. The ball left his bat at 102.3 mph, and just like that, Cleveland led 4-0 before the first inning was finished.
With that swing, Bazzana became the 10th Australian-born player to hit a home run in the big leagues, a piece of history that adds to an already remarkable first few weeks in the majors for the 23-year-old.
Messick carried that lead deep into the game, getting through five-plus innings efficiently before the Twins began to chip away.
The Guardians added an insurance run in the eighth. Cade Smith worked the ninth for his American League-leading 11th save, his third in as many games.
The series continues Saturday night with Tanner Bibee taking the mound against Minnesota’s Joe Ryan. First pitch is set for 6:10 PM ET at Progressive Field.
Cleveland is home and rolling.
NEXT: Guardians Insider Expresses Concern Over Struggling Reliever
