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Guardians score, recap vs Texas Rangers after Cleveland drops second consecutive game
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- Guardians score, recap vs Texas Rangers after Cleveland drops second consecutive game
CLEVELAND — The Guardians enter the final series of the regular season, a three-game set against the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field .
Cleveland enters Sept. 26 with a magic number of three to win the division and two to secure a wild card spot.
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The Rangers have been eliminated and can now play the part of spoiler.
Follow along here for live score updates, analysis and highlights from the Guardians-Rangers game Sept. 26 at Progressive Field.
Guardians fall to the Rangers
The Guardians have dropped their second consecutive game, this one a 7-3 loss to the Rangers. Slade Cecconi was hit hard in the first inning and the Guardians offense could never make up for it.
Though with the Tigers losing in Boston , the Guardians will retain the divisional lead via a tiebreaker. Their magic number is now two for both the AL Central and the wild card, depending on what the Astros do tonight.
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Cody Freeman extends Rangers lead; Guardians trail Texas
The Rangers just added some crucial insurance runs in the top of the seventh, and the Guardians are in some trouble again.
Following three singles that loaded the bases, and with Jakob Junis on the mound, Cody Freeman punched a single through the right side of the infield that scored two and put the Rangers up 6-2.
With two outs, Jake Burger blooped a single that fell in shallow center field, scoring another run and pushing Texas' lead out to 7-2.
The Tigers are still beating the Red Sox , now 3-2.
Rangers lead Guardians entering 5th inning
Both starters have settled down since a rocky first inning, and the Rangers will take a 4-2 lead into the fifth inning.
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Slade Cecconi's day, though, is done already, as Stephen Vogt is going to the bullpen and bringing in Erik Sabrowski .
And as of this moment, the Tigers are beating the Red Sox, 3-1.
Guardians strand runner on 3rd in 2nd inning
The Guardians couldn't come up with a timely hit to draw closer to the Rangers.
In the second inning, Gabriel Arias doubled and advanced to third, but with one out, Leiter struck out both C.J. Kayfus and Brayan Rocchio to end the inning.
The Rangers still lead 4-2.
Sep 26, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians designated hitter Kyle Manzardo (9) celebrates with right fielder George Valera (35) after hitting a home run against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Kyle Manzardo home run cuts Rangers lead in half
Kyle Manzardo has punched back in the bottom of the first inning.
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With a runner on and facing Rangers starter Jack Leiter, Manzardo drilled a two-run home run over the center field wall to cut the Rangers' lead to 4-2. That was a massive swing to half Texas' momentum after a four-run first against Cecconi.
Guardians, Rangers score; Texas blasts Slade Cecconi for 4-run first inning
The Guardians went 19 consecutive games with a starting pitcher allowing two or fewer earned runs, a streak that had been equaled only once in the last 100 years of baseball.
They've now gone to outings in a row allowing at least four earned runs, and tonight's game is still in the first inning.
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The Rangers jumped all over starter Slade Cecconi in the first, putting together a four-run inning capped by Alejandro Osuna 's three-run home run to right-center field, a moonshot that gave Texas a 4-0 lead before the Guardians ever came to bat.
Below is some pregame information.
Guardians lineup vs Rangers
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Steven Kwan , LF
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George Valera , RF
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Jose Ramirez , 3B
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Kyle Manzardo, DH
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Bo Naylor , C
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Gabriel Arias, SS
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Daniel Schneemann , CF
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C.J. Kayfus, 1B
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Brayan Rocchio, 2B
Guardians playoff tickets
If the Guardians do punch their ticket to the playoffs, information on tickets for postseason games can be found here .
Guardians magic numbers. When Cleveland can clinch playoff spot?
Entering Sept. 26, the Guardians magic number to clinch the AL Central is at three. Their magic number to clinch a playoff spot as at least a wild card team is two. In other words, the Guardians could clinch a playoff berth as early as Friday, Sept. 26, and they could clinch the division as early as Saturday, Sept. 27.
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AL Central Division standings
The AL Central Division standings entering Friday, Sept. 26:
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Guardians — 86-73
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Tigers — 86-73
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Guardians own the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Tigers.
AL wild card standings
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Yankees – 90-68 ..... +5
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Red Sox – 87-71 ...... +1
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Tigers – 85-73 ... —
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Astros – 84-74 .......... 1
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The other division leaders are the Blue Jays (90-68, East) and Guardians(86-72, Central), and Mariners (89-69, West).
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Note: Records are before the start of play. Thursday, Sept. 25.
Cleveland Guardians game schedule for the rest of the 2025 MLB season
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Friday, Sept. 26: vs. Texas Rangers , 7:10 p.m.
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Saturday, Sept. 27: vs. Texas Rangers, 7:15 p.m.
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Sunday, Sept. 28: vs. Texas Rangers, 3:10 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians score today vs Texas Rangers live game updates, highlights
