The Cleveland Guardians open up the 2026 season with a series split against the Seattle Mariners.
The Cleveland Guardians first series of the season was a four-game set against the Seattle Mariners, a team that was in the ALCS just a few months ago and objectively improved its roster over the offseason.
It was an immediate test for a young Guardians team, and they certainly showed at times that they can hang around against a team with World Series aspirations this season.
The Guardians and Mariners traded wins in the opening series, with Cleveland taking the first and third games while Seattle stole the second and fourth.
Stephen Vogt acknowledged after Sunday’s loss that the team, of course, wanted to win the series, but was content with a series split to open up the schedule.
“Obviously, we would love to have won the series, but, we walk away from it with a split to start the year,” said Cleveland’s skipper. “We feel pretty good. We're playing good baseball. We had a couple of missed plays today, but outside of that, I feel like we're playing really good baseball these first four games. We just got to keep it rolling.”
Of course, the Guardians would have loved to have won the series, but Vogt is correct, there were still some encouraging signs for the team moving forward, with the center of that being Chase DeLauter’s pair of historic games.
Outside of the rookie sensation, Peyton Pallette showed some encouraging signs on the mound, Gavin Williams fought through some adversity on the mound, and the offense picked up Cade Smith in an extra-innings victory.
Besides the series finale, the Guardians played three tight games against a very good Mariners team.
Vogt continued, “While you want to win three out of four here, for sure, walking away with a split, I'm really proud of the way our guys have come out of the shoot.”
So, what do the Guardians get for keeping pace with one of the top teams in the American League?
Next, they’ll head down to California to continue their gauntlet of a road trip with three games against the two-time reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
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