The Cleveland Guardians get back on track and make club history with their victory over the San Diego Padres.
The Cleveland Guardians have tried to stay positive amid their troublesome streak coming out of the All-Star break. Manager Stephen Vogt has liked to use the mantra over the last few weeks that the team must show up ready to win, and eventually the wins will follow.
Finally, on Saturday evening, Cleveland put together one of its most complete games of the season with a 6-1 victory over the San Diego Padres.
Not only did this victory boost the Guardians’ morale, but the team also made franchise history.
Cleveland notched its 10,000th win in franchise history. The Guardians are just the 11th organization in MLB history to reach that mark, and the third team in the American League.
"First of all, I want to congratulate the whole organization. That's an unbelievable number to get to. And I'm honored to be a part of it," Vogt said after the game.
"I'm really happy for the fans, for the organization, for everybody. 10,000 wins. That's a great march for the city of Cleveland."
Aug 15, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; The Cleveland Guardians celebrate a win over the San Diego Padres at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn ImagesLooking a little bit closer at the victory itself, there was a lot to like about what Cleveland did on the field. For the first time in what feels like months, the Guardians put together a complete game and were in control for just about the entire game.
Joey Cantillo set the tone early and ended up pitching 6.0 innings, allowing only one hit and one earned run, while striking out seven Padres hitters.
The bullpen trio of Colin Holderman (who did exit early with an injury), Hunter Gaddis, and Erik Sabrowski came on in relief and didn't allow a single base runner.
The pitching staff went on a run against the Padres where the retired 27 straight batters without allowing a run.
Cleveland's lineup did its part, too, racking up 11 hits throughout the night. The most encouraging part of Cleveland’s offense in this win was how the team responded and built on its lead.
After going down one run in the first inning, the Guardians immediately struck back and got that run back to tie the game. Cleveland then scored another run in the second inning and tallied two more in the fifth.
The Guardians tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the seventh without even putting the ball in play, thanks to a double steal by Steven Kwan and Chase DeLauter, doubled with a little bit of Guards Ball, too. (DeLauter advanced to third and home on a pair of errors on San Diego second baseman Jake Cronenworth.)
"This is what we've been talking about, a game like this where, you know, we executed offensively, the pitching... moving runners, causing chaos on the bases, that looked like us tonight," Vogt said after the game.
It felt like the Guardians lifted some weight off their shoulders on Saturday evening, but now they'll try to snap another streak on Sunday. A victory for Cleveland would mark their first series victory in multiple weeks.
