The Cleveland Guardians survived a late scare on Saturday night but were able to hold off the Seattle Mariners and earn a hard-fought 4-3 victory at Progressive Field. Their bullpen turned a 4-0 game into a slim one-run lead, but Hunter Gaddis bailed out Shawn Armstrong in the eighth, and Cade Smith secured his 25th save of the season in the ninth after running into some trouble.
Cleveland is now 43-40 and remains one game behind the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central lead. The Pale Hose also won on Saturday.
Two thumbs up for a Saturday night W! 👍👍#GuardsBall | #GuardiWins pic.twitter.com/jz9VQ54bVb
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) June 28, 2026
Slade Cecconi extended his recent run of success with a quality start, giving the Guardians six strong innings in which he conceded three hits, two walks, and no runs. He struck out four, and his ERA for the year, currently at 4.18, keeps dropping.
Cecconi and Mariners starter Logan Gilbert traded zeroes during the first three frames, but the Guardians broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth. Travis Bazzana singled to open the inning, and after Brayan Rocchio gave up the first out, Kyle Manzardo hit a knock of his own to put runners at the corners.
The red-hot Khalil Watson answered the call with an RBI double to plate Bazzana. Rookie Cooper Ingle came through with a two-run single, scoring Manzardo and Watson and putting the second and third runs on the scoreboard.
A Rocchio double brought Bazzana home an inning later, and Cleveland was up 4-0. The game would stay that way until the eighth.
Colin Holderman and Erik Sabrowski solved the seventh frame, and Armstrong was trusted with the eighth. He immediately hit Julio Rodriguez with a pitch, allowed a single to Dominic Canzone, and surrendered a three-run homer to Randy Arozarena that filled fans’ hearts with fear.
Manager Stephen Vogt called Gaddis, and he navigated through a single and a baserunner left by Armstrong just before leaving to get the valuable three outs.
Smith also conceded two baserunners in the ninth, but held on and got the save. Bazzana racked up two runs and went 2-for-4, while Ingle drove in two.
The two teams will go for the series win on Sunday, with Gavin Williams (9-4, 3.82) squaring off against Emerson Hancock (5-4, 3.60).
NEXT: Guardians Manager Offers Encouraging Chase DeLauter Update
