The Patrick Bailey acquisition is already paying dividends, and Slade Cecconi made sure everyone knew it after Tuesday night’s 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Cecconi took the ball against the Angels having never thrown a single pitch to Bailey in a live game setting. Their entire working relationship heading into Tuesday consisted of one pregame bullpen session. That is it. And yet what unfolded over four scoreless innings was as seamless a first pairing as anyone in the Cleveland organization could have hoped for.
“Pat hadn’t caught a baseball from me until the pregame bullpen, and we went out there and I didn’t shake off one pitch in 89 pitches,” Cecconi said.
Slade Cecconi praised Patrick Bailey after the pair worked together for the first time tonight:
“Pat hadn’t caught a baseball from me until the pregame bullpen — and we went out there and I didn’t shake off one pitch in 89 pitches.”#guardians #guardsball pic.twitter.com/ezaoJKQhID
— Mackenzie (@mackenziepflum) May 13, 2026
That is a staggering number that speaks directly to the defensive brilliance and game-calling instincts that made Bailey the most coveted catcher Cleveland could acquire at this stage of the season.
Cecconi struck out a season-high seven batters across his four scoreless innings, looking like a completely different pitcher from the version that struggled through much of April with a 6.56 ERA. He ran his pitch count to 89 before Stephen Vogt, back in the dugout after missing two games with a viral infection, pulled him and handed the game to the bullpen. Vogt had no hesitation about the decision.
“They got Slade’s pitch count up after four and we had to get him out of there. But for Slade to keep them off the scoreboard like that was a real good job,” Vogt said.
Angel Martinez provided the offensive difference-maker, going 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI while also hitting a solo home run that proved to be the decisive blow. The Guardians managed just four hits on the night but drew enough walks and manufactured enough runs to get the job done in a game that felt close throughout.
The Bailey pairing is a story that is going to continue developing as the season progresses. If Tuesday night is any indication of how quickly he can build a working relationship with pitchers he has never thrown to before, the Cleveland rotation just got a significant upgrade in ways that go far beyond what any box score number can capture.
Parker Messick gets the ball on Wednesday afternoon against the Angels at 1:10 PM ET.
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