In a wild Tuesday afternoon, the Cleveland Guardians went from being up 4-0 to down 5-4 at one point, only to win it 6-5 in Cincinnati against the Reds. They are now 55-53 on the season, with another game to play on Tuesday night.
It was a true ‘Guards Ball’ display by Cleveland: they stole three bases and scored the winning run on a safety squeeze in the eighth inning. Oh, and the bullpen was fantastic.
Won-0.#GuardsBall | #GuardiWins pic.twitter.com/niaMDiVsMM
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 28, 2026
Slade Cecconi held the Reds scoreless in the first two innings, but allowed a run in the third and collapsed in the fourth to complete another disappointing outing. He ended up throwing 3.2 frames in which he surrendered four runs, seven hits, and a walk, striking out just two. His ERA is now at 4.78, and he could potentially be starting to feel tired due to his significant workload.
The Guardians got off to a very promising start. After one out, Jose Ramirez singled, Chase DeLauter reached on an error, and Travis Bazzana walked to load the bases. Brayan Rocchio surrendered the second out, a flyout, which set the stage for Kyle Manzardo’s at-bat.
The umpires initially ruled that the Guardians slugger was hit by a pitch, but the Reds challenged the call, and it was overturned. Two pitches later, Manzardo belted the first grand slam of his career to give his team a 4-0 lead in the opening frame.
With one out in the bottom of the third, Sal Stewart put the first run on the board for Cincinnati with a solo home run. Elly De La Cruz had been called out in the previous play after trying to extend a single into a double.
The Reds put up a four-spot in the fourth to flip the score. Nathaniel Lowe and Tyler Stephenson hit consecutive doubles, the last one producing the second run of the game for the Reds. After Dane Myers grounded out, Edwin Arroyo singled in Stephenson to cut the Guardians’ lead to one run.
Slade Cecconi then got TJ Friedl to pop out for the second out of the frame, but was removed in favor of Tim Herrin. The left-hander allowed a single to Elly De La Cruz, and then Stewart won the battle and hit a two-run, go-ahead single for Cincinnati.
Cleveland tied the game in the top of the fifth, thanks to Jose Ramirez. The superstar singled, stole second base, stole third, and crossed home on DeLauter’s sac fly. It was 5-5 at Great American Ballpark at that point.
The Guardians would get the lead for good in the eighth. With DeLauter on third and Bazzana on first, Rocchio executed a perfect safety squeeze, sending DeLauter home to break the tie and put the game 6-5 Guardians.
Love us some #GuardsBall. 🥰 pic.twitter.com/WyTScml6iX
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 28, 2026
Cecconi didn’t have a good game, but Cleveland’s bullpen was amazing. Herrin was charged with one run while getting just one out, but Franco Aleman, Colin Holderman, Hunter Gaddis, and Cade Smith combined to blank the Reds for five frames.
Angel Martinez made an impressive diving catch to secure the win and earn Smith his 30th save of the year.
Manzardo went 1-for-3 with the grand slam, while Ramirez racked up two hits, two runs, and two steals. DeLauter also scored twice, and Petey Halpin contributed two hits from the ninth spot.
NEXT: Former Player Raises Doubt About Guardians' Trade Deadline History
