The Cleveland Guardians' bats couldn't keep up with the Pittsburgh Pirates' much-improved lineup.
The Cleveland Guardians had a team OPS of .669, which ranked 29th in MLB following the 2025 season. The only team worse than the Guardians was the Pittsburgh Pirates, who finished the year with a .655 OPS.
The two teams were very similar: both had elite pitching staffs, but their lineups couldn’t provide enough run support.
Cleveland and Pittsburgh met for the first time this season over the weekend, and the two teams look very different from one another in 2026. That was clear in the Pirates’ series victory over the Guardians.
The Pirates traded for Brandon Lowe and signed Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna in free agency, were aggressive with their prospect call-ups, and now have one of the best offenses in all of baseball.
At the same time, Cleveland is still searching for answers for some of their offensive woes.
The disparity in the two teams’ lineup was on full display over the weekend as Cleveland dropped two of three games to Pittsburgh.
When all 21 innings between the two teams had been played, the Pirates outscored the Guardians 17-7.
Five of Cleveland’s runs came between the eighth and the ninth inning of Saturday night’s game, which included Travis Bazzana’s first career walk-off home run, one of the lone bright spots of the last three games.
Jul 19, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis (32) tags out Cleveland Guardians designated hitter Chase DeLauter (24) during the fourth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesIn all fairness, the Guardians did face both Jared Jones and Paul Skenes in this series, two of MLB’s top pitchers. Skenes will receive Cy Young votes, and Jones could be on that same trajectory once he’s healthy.
Stephen Vogt acknowledged that on Sunday, Skenes didn’t make it easy on the Guardians with his two fastballs and two changeups.
At the same time, Cleveland’s skipper acknowledged that his team had some poor execution in Sunday's loss and made some mistakes on the field, especially on the base paths.
Those types of miscues can really come back to hurt a team, especially when the margin for error is thin on offense.
The Pirates proved over the offseason that a lineup can quickly improve with a couple of veteran hitters inserted into the middle of the lineup.
Will the Guardians follow that same blueprint with the trade deadline rapidly approaching?
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