Joey Cantillo wasn’t supposed to start Monday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.
That was Ben Lively’s assignment, or at least that was the initial plan.
The organization, however, announced the switch on Sunday and called the lefty rookie up on Monday.
It’s safe to say he didn’t disappoint.
Not only did the Guardians win 5-3, but Cantillo was marvelous on the mound.
Entering the game with an ERA over 7, the rookie took a perfect game into the seventh inning and conceded just two hits and a run, striking out a whopping 10 hitters.
It was easily the best start of his young MLB career.
The fact that both the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins also lost was the cherry on top.
“Game over. #Guardians hold on to beat the White Sox 5-3 in Chicago in their series opener. Cleveland improves to 82-62 on the season. Both the Royals and Twins lost tonight, so the Guards go up 3.5 games on KC, and 6 games on Minnesota. 18 games to play…”, Cleveland sports anchor Nick Camino posted on X.
On Monday, Cleveland took a giant step towards October.
The Royals had managed to get close again in the standings, just 2.5 games behind before all teams took the field on Monday.
Now, the Guardians woke up on Tuesday with a 3.5 game lead.
The battle for the division is not over, but the Guards have a golden chance to put some ground between them and the competition if they sweep the lowly White Sox.
David Fry homered, Josh Naylor had two hits and Steven Kwan scored a couple of runs to aid Cleveland’s victory.
NEXT: Guardians Veteran Set For First Rehab Start On Friday
