The Cleveland Guardians had to navigate some difficult situations throughout the year, but they conquered their first major goal of the 2026 campaign: clinching a postseason spot. They did it on Thursday night at Fenway Park, beating the Boston Red Sox 1-0 behind a masterful performance from Joey Cantillo in bulk relief.
Punched our ticket, but we want more.#GuardsBall | #StandGuard pic.twitter.com/37NO13rNfU
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 25, 2026
With the win, the Guardians’ record is now 83-76, and they remain one game ahead of the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central top spot. Whoever wins the division will likely get a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the Division Series. The loser will be ticketed for the Wild Card round.
Let's dance.#GuardsBall | #GuardiWins pic.twitter.com/NSgTx7lENw
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 25, 2026
Cantillo followed Daniel Espino, who acted as the opener and tossed a scoreless first inning with two strikeouts. After taking over from the rookie, the left-hander tossed five shutout innings in which he surrendered just one hit and two walks, fanning four. The stellar outing lowered Cantillo’s ERA to 3.62.
Red Sox’s starter Ranger Suarez also pitched a good game, allowing just one run over five strong innings. He made one mistake, though, as Angel Martinez hit a 2-2 changeup near the right field pole for a solo home run that wound up being the difference. If you think about it, it wasn’t even a bad pitch: Martinez is just locked in at the moment.
Fenway Park special.#GuardsBall | #StandGuard pic.twitter.com/qlw3foBgi2
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 24, 2026
It was the 18th home run of the season for the breakout star. He won’t work many walks, but the young outfielder can swing the stick and produce when it matters most.
After Espino and Cantillo teamed up to complete six shutout frames, the rest of the Guardians’ bullpen did its job as expected. Hunter Gaddis surrendered a couple of baserunners, but was able to get the zero in the seventh, and Erik Sabrowski worked around a walk to strike out two and take care of the eighth. Cade Smith notched his 41st save of the year after working a flawless ninth.
Cleveland’s offense had an off night, racking up just four hits. In addition to Martinez’s solo blast, Jose Ramirez went 2-for-4 with his 37th stolen base. Thanks to the always-reliable pitching staff, they didn’t really need much more.
Cleveland will open its last series of the regular season in Kansas City on Friday night against the Royals. They are still trying to lock up the AL Central crown.
Gavin Williams is expected to start for the Guardians, facing Noah Cameron. The game will start at 7:40 pm ET at Kauffman Stadium.
NEXT: Guardians Release 3 Minor League Players
