CLEVELAND — The regular season is over and the Cleveland Guardians are headed to the postseason with a first-round bye. Cleveland clinched a postseason berth for the third straight year with a 1-0 win against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday and then locked down the American League Central on Saturday to secure a week off before facing the winner of the Wild Card series.
Angel Martínez provided the only run Thursday, taking a 79 mph changeup from Ranger Suarez into the right field seats for the decisive home run. A combined two-hit effort from Daniel Espino, Joey Cantillo, Hunter Gaddis, Erik Sabrowski and Cade Smith made the one-run lead stand up and secured the postseason spot.
The division title was sealed Saturday after Cleveland rallied from an early three-run deficit against the Kansas City Royals. The Guardians answered with four runs in the second inning and then broke the game open with a four-run ninth to secure the win. They got help the same day when catcher Hunter Goodman hit two home runs to lead the Colorado Rockies past the Chicago White Sox, a result that clinched the AL Central for Cleveland. Fans showed their gratitude on social media, with user @GuardsJoey quoting the Rockies' win graphic to ask about a GoFundMe for Goodman's favorite charity, Kids of Denver, which provides school clothing for children in Denver. By Sunday, fans had donated $2,500 to the organization.
Cleveland's No. 4 prospect Cooper Ingle also brought home hardware Saturday when Minor League Baseball announced he earned International League MVP honors. Ingle hit 20 home runs and led the league with a .952 OPS, while ranking in the top five in runs (85), walks (86), batting average (.297) and BABIP (.362). In 21 at-bats with the major league club this year he hit .095/.208/.095, but with nearly a full season of Triple-A experience he will have an opportunity to blossom in 2027.