The Force was Strong with the Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians looked to end the month of April with a win on Star Wars Night at Progressive Field. Furthermore, they were looking for their 17th win of the 2025 season before the calendar flipped over to May. Luis Ortiz got the start for the Guardians, and he Jedi Mind Tricked the Minnesota Twins to swing and miss a good bit in this game. In the end, the Guardians won the game 4-2.
Ortiz went out and pitched himself into a quality start and a win. He finished the night pitching 6.1 innings, only allowing three hits. He struck out five in the process, while also walking two. Outside of the walks, Ortiz went deep into the game, saving the arms in the bullpen, which goes a long way in a long MLB season. He saw his 2025 season ERA drop to 4.78 after his outing.
Cade Smith came into the game for relief and as usual, shut the door. He struck out both batters that he faced in the top of the seventh, and his ERA for the season went down to 1.15. Smith is just dialed in every time he steps on the mound for the Guardians.
Hunter Gaddis came into the game and gave up a home run to Brooks Lee. It was the only run and hit that he gave up in the inning, as he finished it off with three strikeouts. Gaddis’ ERA went to .77 on the season. Outside of the lone hit, Gaddis had a solid inning out work out of the bullpen.
Emmanuel Clase came into the ninth to close out the game. He did give up a run on a wild pitch that he spiked on the ground. However, he did secure his fifth save of the season, striking out three, and giving up two hits in the inning. His ERA is now 6.75 in 2025.
It took a while to get rolling, but the Guardians’ offense exploded in the bottom of the seventh. They went and scored four runs to jump out to a huge lead after being held to a couple of hits until then. Jose Ramirez got on base and then stole a base before Carlos Santana came up to the plate. Santana hit a weak grounder that the Twins starter, Pablo Lopez, picked up and threw an error on the play. Ramirez scored to make it a 1-0 game. Later in the inning, Bo Naylor came up with two on base and smashed a three-run home run to break the game wide open.
The Guardians’ offense finished with four runs on five hits. Their most notable hitters were:
- Naylor went 1-for-3 with that clutch 3-run home run in the bottom of the 7th
- Ramirez went 2-for-4 and scored a run on the error from Lopez
- Santana and Angel Martinez both went 1-for-3 in the game
The Guardians move to 17-13 on the season as the calendar flips over to May. Their first game in May is on the 1st against the Twins. The first pitch is scheduled for a 1:10 p.m. Eastern start. Ben Lively will be on the bump for the Guardians as they look to continue their winning ways.