The Cleveland Guardians asserted themselves as one of the teams in the American League after taking two of three games from the New York Yankees.
Coming into the 2026 season, there was a broad consensus among national analysts that the Cleveland Guardians were a back-half team in baseball, while the New York Yankees had a top-five roster.
For the most part, the Yankees have lived up to that potential, which is what made the Guardians series victory this week that much more impressive. In many ways, Cleveland made quite a statement, taking two of three games against New York in Yankee Stadium.
Even with Aaron Judge sidelined, the Guardians knew that their series against the Yankees was going to be a challenge, primarily because of the starting pitchers Cleveland was set to face.
In the series opener, early Cy Young candidate Cam Schlittler took the mound. However, the Guardians tagged him for four earned runs in 4.1 innings, which was a season worst in each category.
Then, on Wednesday, Cleveland scored four earned runs off Gerrit Cole. Sure, it was only Cole’s third start of the season coming off Tommy John surgery, but the veteran arm always deserves respect when he’s on the mound.
The Guardians couldn’t do as much damage against Carlos Rodon, who continued his domination against the Cleveland franchise.
That said, outsourcing the Yankees 15-10 in their home park is always a positive to turn back to when the season inevitably gets tough.
Jun 3, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; )Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) celebrates with right fielder Chase DeLauter (24) and left fielder Angel Martinez (1) after defeating the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn ImagesAs Slade Cecconi said after Thursday’s game, “We can compete against any team in this league. We have a lot of really, really, high quality young players that are getting better, and better, and are learning and growing in this game, and that’s dangerous.”
“Anytime we win a series, we're happy,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “Obviously, we would have loved to have gotten a sweep today, and that was definitely a game we felt like we could win. We were in it the whole way. We hit some balls hard right at people. Just weren't able to get enough going to score more than a one run, but I'm really proud of the way our guys bounced back after a tough homestand.”
After this series win, the Guardians hold a 19-14 record away from their home ballpark, and a 15-13 record against teams with a record over .500.
Those are two indicators of an objectively good team.
Cleveland now holds the third-best record in the American League after this series. There’s still a lot of work to do, but the Guardians should feel confident with where they’re at.
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