The Cleveland Guardians have survived their first major test of the season, which came in the form of a seven-game stretch against the best team in baseball as well as the defending World Series champion.

Cleveland continues its homestand Friday against a very different squad in the Los Angeles Angels, who have lost five straight.

The Guardians enjoyed their off day after Angel Martinez’s three-run homer in a five-run eighth inning completed a come-from-behind 7-4 win over the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.

“It’s important to pay attention to every single pitch and every at-bat that you see throughout the game, not only the last ones,” Martinez said after the biggest hit of his two-year career. “Because in those moments you want to make sure that the game is not speeding up to you.

“You know (how) they’re trying to attack you, so you have an idea, a better idea of what to do on the plate.”

The victory allowed Cleveland to avoid a three-game sweep to the champs. That series came immediately after the GUardians won three of four games on the road against the league-leading Detroit Tigers.

“You’re on TV every night. People are messaging you and everything else, and it’s real,” Guardians outfielder Nolan Jones said of the high-profile stretch. “I’ve been through it before, but if that’s the first time you’re struggling in the major leagues, it’s tough.”

Cleveland appears to have dodged a major blow as All-Star and Gold Glove-winning left fielder Steven Kwan should be “good to go,” according to manager Stephen Vogt.

Kwan left the series finale with right wrist inflammation after batting twice against future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw.

“He felt it on his swing and with 48 hours between games, we felt like it was the right call to just get him out of there,” Vogt said.

Cleveland sends right-hander Luis Ortiz (2-5, 4.73 ERA) to the mound against Angels right-hander José Soriano (3-5, 3.73 ERA).

Ortiz has lost both of his career appearances against the Angels, one apiece in 2024 and 2025, and has a 5.14 ERA in those games.

Soriano also has decisions in each of his appearances against the Guardians, going 2-2 with a 4.42 ERA over the past three seasons.

He is tasked with ending a five-game losing streak that has come on the heels of an eight-game winning streak. Los Angeles dropped two games to the Miami Marlins, then three in a row to the American League champion New York Yankees — all at home.

“It seems like when we go bad, everybody goes bad,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “We’re searching, we’re working, we’re putting in the time, and we’ve just got to get it done between those white lines.”

There is no secret to Los Angeles’ struggles with five runs in their past five game after 61 runs in their previous eight.

Yoan Moncada, Jo Adell and Zach Neto had one RBI apiece as the Angels have been outscored 12-3 over their last four games, which includes one shutout by the Yankees and one by the Marlins.

“It passes and comes and goes, for better and for worse, but our approach doesn’t change,” Los Angeles catcher Logan O’Hoppe said. “We just have to ride the wave.”

–Field Level Media