Guardians Win Opener In Colorado Behind Travis Bazzana’s Four-Hit Night

The Cleveland Guardians entered Friday’s game with an 11-20 record in the second half, one of the worst in the majors. However, they seem to be trending in the right direction at long last, earning a 9-1 win in Colorado against the Rockies and improving their record to 63-66.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the Guardians have won four of their last six games. They need to keep doing that if they want to catch the Chicago White Sox at the top of the AL Central. For now, though, they are fighting for a Wild Card spot.

Mile High dub to kick off #PlayersWeekend!#GuardsBall | #GuardiWWins pic.twitter.com/0Mp3jufqH4

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) August 22, 2026

Left-hander Joey Cantillo had a short but solid outing, keeping the Rockies to just one run in 4.2 innings at one of the toughest venues in the league for pitchers. He conceded four hits and walked four, struggling with the thin air of the mountains and its effect on pitch movement, but also struck out five.

The Rockies actually jumped ahead in the bottom of the first, when Willi Castro came through with an RBI single that plated Jake McCarthy. From that point on, however, it was all Guardians.

Petey Halpin’s third home run of the season tied the game for the Guardians in the top of the third. Then, in the fourth, Travis Bazzana, who was the star of the night with four hits, made it a 3-1 ballgame with a two-run single that brought Nathaniel Lowe and Angel Genao home.

Jo Adell plated Steven Kwan with a single in the top of the fifth, and, in the sixth, the leadoff hitter drove in Bazzana with a groundout to put the fifth run on the scoreboard for Cleveland. Catcher Patrick Bailey put the game out of reach with a three-run shot in the top of the seventh: it was 8-1 Guardians at that point.

Bazzana put the finishing touches on the score with another run-scoring single in the ninth, driving in Lowe. The rookie infielder, who had been struggling lately, had a much-needed performance, going 4-for-5 with two runs and three RBI. Bailey homered and drove in three, and Lowe scored three times.

Tim Herrin, Colin Holderman, Craig Yoho, and Matt Festa combined to cover 4.1 scoreless innings to finish the game.

The Guardians and Rockies will play Game 2 of the series on Saturday night, starting at 8:10 pm ET. Tanner Bibee will toe the rubber for the visitors, facing Gabriel Hughes.