The Cleveland Guardians walked nine hitters and committed two errors on Thursday, dropping the series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3. They have now lost two consecutive series and fell to 70-70 on the season, which is problematic on multiple levels.
For starters, the Blue Jays are now just half a game behind them in the fight for the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League. The Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers also play later on Thursday, so they could also cut the deficit to half a game behind Cleveland if they win against the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays, respectively.
Tigers in town tomorrow.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/MhoRWKiHOu
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 3, 2026
Additionally, Thursday’s win gives Toronto the season series against the Guardians 4-2. That means they own the tiebreaker in case of a hypothetical postseason seeding. If the two teams finish the season with the same record and are tied for the final Wild Card spot, Cleveland would be eliminated.
Tanner Bibee wasn’t on his day, as he allowed five runs on four hits and five walks in four frames. He struck out four, but lost his 15th game of the year, with just five wins.
The Guardians were the ones scoring first on Thursday. With two outs and men on first and second base, Angel Genao singled on a ground ball to center field. Jo Adell crossed home plate with the run.
Sean Keys quickly tied the game an inning later, though. He hit an RBI single off Bibee to bring home Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
With the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, Nathan Lukes hit a two-run double that scored Ernie Clement and Brandon Valenzuela, as Toronto went ahead 3-1. Guerrero then drove in Brett Bateman with a sac fly, and Jesus Sanchez produced the fifth run for the Blue Jays with an RBI single.
In the bottom of the inning, the Guardians cut the deficit to two runs. With the bases loaded and two outs, Austin Hedges came through with a two-run single, sending Genao and Adell home.
The Blue Jays extended their lead to 6-3 in the top of the ninth, with Ernie Clement singling against Carlos Hernandez and bringing home Josh Smith.
Defense was a problem for the Guardians in this one: Bazzana made his seventh error of the season, and reliever Matt Festa his third. They will need to play cleaner baseball if they want to make it into October.
Steven Kwan was the only Guardian with two hits, and Hedges drove in two runs. Adell scored two, and Chase DeLauter logged the only extra-base hit of the afternoon for Cleveland, a double. The struggling Brayan Rocchio went 0-for-3.
After winning on Sunday and Tuesday, the Guardians have now lost two straight. They will try to return to their winning ways on Friday, as they kick off a key four-game series against the Detroit Tigers at home.
Cleveland will play two games on Friday, and one each on Saturday and Sunday. After that, they have another key matchup, this time on the road: they will face the Orioles.
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