The Cleveland Guardians dropped the series finale to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, falling 4-2 at a sold-out Rogers Centre to lose two of three games in the series. The Guardians fall to 15-14.
The story of the afternoon was the same one that has been following Slade Cecconi around for weeks. He gave the Guardians a chance, but the third time through the Toronto lineup proved to be one trip too many.
Heading home.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/VsYwuJEeee
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) April 26, 2026
Cecconi fell to 0-4 on the season with a 6.23 ERA after allowing 4 runs on 6 hits across 5.2 innings. He struck out 5 and walked one.
To his credit, Cecconi did not fold after giving up a pair of early runs. He came back with four consecutive scoreless innings that allowed the Cleveland offense to scratch its way back into the game. The bottom of the order did the damage in the fifth, with Juan Brito, Austin Hedges, and Brayan Rocchio delivering three straight hits against Toronto starter Patrick Corbin.
The Guardians had a golden opportunity to take the lead right there. Toronto’s bullpen came in and intentionally walked Jose Ramirez before unintentionally walking Rhys Hoskins to load the bases, but Braydon Fisher struck out David Fry to strand three runners and keep it tied. It was another painful entry in what has become a recurring chapter for this offense.
Cecconi ran out of gas in the sixth, and he gave up two more runs to give Toronto a 4-2 lead that the Guardians could not recover from.
In his last two starts combined, Cecconi has allowed 10 earned runs on 16 hits and 3 walks across 10.2 innings.
The lone bright spot across the entire series from a Cleveland offensive standpoint was Angel Martinez, who went 5-12 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI across the three games. His two-homer performance on Friday night was the signature moment of the series, and he has now established himself as one of the more dangerous bats in the Cleveland lineup through the first month of the season.
After scoring 8 runs in the series opener, the Guardians managed just 5 runs across the final two games, a collapse that cost them a series win against a Blue Jays team that entered the weekend at 10-15.
Cleveland comes home Monday for a series opener against Tampa Bay. Parker Messick, who is 3-0 with a 1.76 ERA, gets the ball against Steven Matz at Progressive Field.
NEXT: Guardians Announce 2 Roster Moves
