The Cleveland Guardians are trying to win their third consecutive AL Central title these days. If they can’t reach that goal, the bare minimum should be making the postseason via a Wild Card spot. If the regular season ended today, they would move on to October baseball that way.
The regular season does not end today, though, which means that Cleveland needs every win it can get to secure its place. And to put themselves in a position to secure victories, they need two specific players getting their rhythm back: infielders Travis Bazzana and Brayan Rocchio.
Analyst Jack O’Rourke said the Guardians lineup needs to be more consistent. It all starts with the double play combo, though.
“Travis Bazzana, hey, it was a rough couple of months there. I looked like the town idiot. I put out a day before his walk-off hit that, ‘Hey, are we worried about Bazzana?’ I got a million comments after, which I love, because Travy’s back. He was struggling for a little bit. Hopefully, he stops pressing. He gets going. Brayan Rocchio, we all know, he’s the biggest confidence player in the world. Maybe going out and having a day like he did on Friday starts to turn his bat back around, but you’re gonna need this lineup to get a lot more consistent if you’re going anywhere,” O’Rourke said.
After two big weekends, do you have more faith in Travis Bazzana and Brayan Rocchio up the middle? #GuardsBall@JackORourke94 speaks to the confidence these young bats gained from their clutch hits vs the Tigers. https://t.co/9vFMykOeRH pic.twitter.com/UqGHbAnYtt
— BIGPLAY Cleveland (@BIGPLAYcle) September 8, 2026
Bazzana, who made the All-Star team in July fueled by a furious May in which he had a 150 wRC+, had been struggling for most of the summer. His wRC+ for the season as a whole had dipped below the league-average threshold of 100, but after racking up six hits in his last three games, including two doubles and a homer, it’s back up to 104.
Rocchio also entered into a deep slump since the beginning of June, but had a breakthrough game on Friday with two homers and hit another one on the weekend against the Tigers. On Tuesday, he went 2-for-4 with a couple of RBI. Bazzana also had a big game.
Both middle infielders appear to be rounding into form at the most opportune time, and that’s excellent news for a team that needs all the offensive contributions it can get. If Bazzana and Rocchio show the form they had in the first couple of months of their respective seasons, the Guardians’ offense could potentially reach new heights.
NEXT: Angel Martinez Is Quietly Heating Up For The Guardians
