Offense Explodes As Guardians Take 2-0 Series Lead

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SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 02: Travis Bazzana #37 of the <a class= — SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 02: Travis Bazzana #37 of the Cleveland Guardians bats against the Athletics in the top of the second inning of a major league baseball game at Sutter Health Park on May 02, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images

ZachF1324

Sun, May 3, 2026 at 5:08 AM UTC ·

3 min read

Was that the most fun game of the year? I think it was. It’s been a long time since we saw the offense score the way they have in the last two games. Seeing Travis Bazzana get his first big league hit with the bases loaded was truly special. His surface numbers may not look great so far but I have been very impressed with his ABs. He is going to be a good player for a very long time.

Chase DeLauter continues to do absurd things for a rookie. I told some of my friends earlier today that he’s like a video game character with maximum hitting attributes. He truly has no weakness at the plate and it is an absolute joy to watch. Over his last 7 games he has a slash line of .565/.630/.696.

Maybe the most important thing from today was Kyle Manzardo hitting a pinch hit 3 run bomb. Let us all pray that this is the start of him going back to being the Kyle Manzardo that we know he is capable of being. José Ramírez also seems to be in a bit of slump, it was nice to see him have that big double today that knocked in a couple runs.

Angel Martinez continues to have an awesome season with 3 hits today. And how about David Fry ? They have had a lot of patience with him and it looks to be starting to pay off after he hit a huge HR today off a lefty. How could I possibly forget AUSTIN HEDGES ? With two doubles and a HR today, he is now hitting .325 with an .864 OPS on the season, good for third best on the team behind Schneemann and DeLauter. I do not expect this to continue, but we appreciate any and all offensive contributions from Hedgey.

Now that we have went through all the awesome things with the offense, it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room. Slade Cecconi had another rough start today. His ERA is up to 6.56 on the season and it’s hard to find any positives with him right now. How long can they keep running him out there every 5 days? Do they think Logan Allen can give them a better chance to win right now? Allen is not exactly lighting it up in AAA either. Cecconi does have an option, so they could always send him down to AAA and have him work on some stuff there. If it were my decision, that is likely what I’d do as he seems like someone who just needs a reset.

Tim Herrin might be the most underappreciated member of the team right now, he’s been phenomenal this season. He has yet to allow an earned run and the advanced metrics support that. Hunter Gaddis had another rough performance, but I am still not worried about him. I think he just needs some time and he’ll be fine.

The Guardians will look for the sweep tomorrow. It will be Parker Messick vs…checks notes…Aaron Civale at 4:05 pm ET.!