Angel Martinez, Brayan Rocchio lead Guardians in win at Cardinals
Brayan Rocchio hit a two-run home run and Daniel Schneemann and Steven Kwan each added two RBIs as the Cleveland Guardians defeated the host St. Louis Cardinals 9-3 on April 13.
Angel Martinez added a home run for the Guardians, who totaled 11 hits. Martinez and Rocchio each had a two-hit game, as did Kwan and Jose Ramirez .
Schneemann had a clutch two-run single in the fourth, when the Guardians scored three times to take a 4-1 lead.
Guardians starter Gavin Williams (2-1) pitched five-plus innings, giving up five hits and two runs. The right-hander walked two and struck out four on 93 pitches.
Williams was chased in the sixth when Jordan Walker , who had six home runs all last season, hit his major-league-leading eighth to open the inning.
Walker beat out an infield single in the eighth and scored the game's final run on Pedro Pages ' sacrifice fly. Walker, 23, has a nine-game hitting streak, and he is batting .333 with 15 RBIs and 15 runs. His 46 total bases lead the majors.
Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore (0-1) went five innings, allowing six hits and four runs. The southpaw walked three and struck out two on 105 pitches.
In the Guardians fourth, Ramirez and Rhys Hoskins walked before David Fry loaded the bases with a single to left. Schneemann then drove in Ramirez and Hoskins with a single to right off first baseman Alec Burleson 's glove.
With one out, Austin Hedges flied out deep to left. Nathan Church made the catch but forgot how many outs there were and did not come up throwing, allowing Fry to tag up and make it 4-1.
Cleveland increased the lead to 6-1 in the sixth when Hedges drew a two-out walk and Rocchio hit a 402-foot home run to left.
The Guardians boosted the lead to 9-2 in the eighth when a throwing error scored one run and Kwan produced an RBI single.
Martinez (2-for-5) gave the Guardians a 1-0 edge with a first-inning homer. The Cardinals opened the bottom of the inning with three consecutive singles but pushed across only one run, on Burleson's hit.
St. Louis finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Guardians open series at Cardinals | What to know
Ten of Cleveland's first 16 games have come against National League teams. The Cardinals have met American League squads in nine of their 15 games.
Gavin Williams (1-1, 2.04 ERA) will take the mound in St. Louis with Cleveland looking to bounce back from a 13-1 loss at the Atlanta Braves on Sunday night . The Guardians still hold a share of the early-season standings lead in the American League Central.
Williams, who has recorded double-digit strikeouts in two of his past four regular-season starts dating back to 2025, is coming off a 5 2/3-inning appearance on Tuesday in no-decision against the Kansas City Royals . The lone hit and run he allowed was a solo homer by Carter Jensen , but he did walk five in an eventual 2-1 win. He did not get a decision.
"Outside of that (home run), they couldn't really get anything going," Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said, reflecting on Williams' most recent start. "He's got the stuff to miss bats. Obviously, in a perfect world, we'd love him to never walk anyone, like anybody, but Gavin's got the stuff to get out of it."
Williams, a right-hander, will make only his second career start against St. Louis on Monday, having pitched 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball on Sept. 22, 2024. The Cardinals' 2-1 defeat was charged to the bullpen.
Despite banging out nine hits in the Sunday loss, the Guardians managed just one run on Rhys Hoskins' solo homer, breaking up a Chris Sale shutout bid in the sixth inning.
Rookie Chase DeLauter (2-for-2, double, walk) and Daniel Schneemann (3-for-4, two doubles) both logged multi-hit games. DeLauter boasts a 1.059 OPS and has reached base in nine straight games.
The Cardinals hope their six-game homestand can take a positive turn following consecutive losses to the Boston Red Sox , including 9-3 on Sunday, following a 3-2 win to open the weekend series on Friday.
Despite the defeats, Jordan Walker continued his exceptional rookie season with his third set of back-to-back homers already this season, giving him an MLB-best seven through his first 15 games. Only Mark McGwire, Scott Rolen and Albert Pujols have reached that mark in that span in St. Louis franchise history.
"You can enjoy it when it happens," Walker said of his power surge. "But the main goal is to keep it going."
St. Louis managed multiple homers in a game for the fifth time this season, as Alec Burleson also hit one in the eighth inning on Sunday against the Red Sox. However, they have allowed at least seven runs in consecutive games after Matt Svanson struggled out of the bullpen -- five earned runs in one inning on Saturday -- and starter Andre Pallante was tagged in his Sunday start.
"I just didn't think we were good enough against the starter ( Brayan Bello ), bottom line," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of the Sunday game. "We've executed at a much higher rate than what we did (Sunday). ... You're gonna have days like that."
Despite a solid run through three starts, St. Louis' Matthew Liberatore (0-0, 3.38) is still searching for his first decision of the season. He allowed just one run in each of his first two starts (11 total innings) before a mixed bag of an outing on Tuesday, He struck out a season-high six batters while giving up four runs on nine hits in five innings against the Washington Nationals .
Liberatore did not get the decision in the 7-6, 10-inning win for the Cardinals.
The 26-year-old left-hander is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA in three appearances (two starts) against Cleveland, earning the victory with six shutout innings during the Cardinals' 7-0 win on June 29, 2025.
When do the Guardians play tonight?
Cleveland opens the series vs. the Cardinals at 7:45 p.m. ET.
Where to watch the Guardians tonight?
Tonight's Guardians-Cardinals game will be televised on Guardians TV.
Guardians lineup tonight vs. Cardinals
Guardians pitching rotation update
After securing the No. 5 spot in the Guardians Opening Day rotation, Parker Messick is off to a fantastic start to his 2026 season, allowing just one earned run in 17 2/3 innings. He has struck out 16 hitters compared to only five walks. Joey Cantillo and Gavin Williams have been strong as well. Tanner Bibee and Slade Cecconi have had the rockier starts to the season. On April 17, the Guardians are lined up to face former University of Akron pitcher Chris Bassitt , now with the Orioles.
Guardians at Cardinals pitching probables
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April 13 - Gavin Williams (1-1, 2.04) vs Matt Liberatore (0-0, 3.38)
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April 14 - Joey Cantillo (1-0, 2.45) vs Michael McGreevy (1-1, 2.16)
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April 15 - Slade Cecconi (0-2, 5.74) vs Dustin May (1-2, 9.45)
Guardians vs Orioles pitching probables
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April 16 - Parker Messick (2-0, 0.51) vs Shane Baz (0-1, 4.50)
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April 17 - Tanner Bibee (0-2, 6.38 ERA) vs Chris Bassitt (0-2, 9.00)
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April 18 - Gavin Williams (1-1, 2.04) vs TBA
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April 19 - Joey Cantillo (1-0, 2.45) vs Trevor Trevor Rogers (2-0, 1.89)
The Akron Beacon Journal sports department can be contacted via email at bjsports@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians score last night, Cleveland wins big at Cardinals
