The Cleveland Guardians won three of four games against the Baltimore Orioles to begin their seven-day homestand.
Next up are the free-falling Houston Astros, who arrive Monday to open a three-game set against the American League Central leaders.
In a matchup of 26-year-old right-handers, the Guardians’ Slade Cecconi (0-2, 5.03 ERA) will oppose the Astros’ Spencer Arrighetti (1-0, 1.50).
Regardless of what happens in the series, the feel-good moment of the homestand has already occurred. It involved a diamond being presented on the baseball diamond.
Veteran catcher Austin Hedges became engaged to his girlfriend Lexi Dickinson near third base on Sunday, shortly after Cleveland beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-4. Hedges won two replay challenges behind the plate and scored a run before his life changed.
“It was a special day. A special day to be able to soak it all in,” he said. “I’ve had the ring since early spring training, so I’ve just been trying to figure out when the right time was. Obviously, after a win was probably a good time for it.”
Jose Ramirez smacked a pair of solo homers and ninth-place hitter Brayan Rocchio had three RBIs as the Guardians scored more than five runs for the first time at home since April 8 against the Kansas City Royals.
None of the clubhouse celebrations were about the offense, though, as Hedges repeatedly was congratulated by his teammates before going to dinner with his fiancee.
“I was really hoping to win the game,” he said. “I was going to do it regardless, but I really wanted to win to make it extra special.”
Cleveland has lost all four of Cecconi’s starts, though he gave up one total run over 10 innings in no-decisions against the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.
Length continues to be his biggest issue, failing to get through the sixth three times.
“We still like the group of guys that we have, but it obviously hasn’t performed as consistently as we think it’s capable of,” said Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti. “But I’m optimistic that group will develop into a strong team over time.”
Cecconi has faced the Astros twice in his career, starting once, with a 1-0 record and 3.00 ERA. He struck out nine in a win last July 9 at Houston.
The Astros have been a mess, losing four straight and 12 of their last 14 to plummet into last place in the AL West. Their 1-9 road record is the worst in the majors and they’re in the midst of playing on 13 straight days.
On Sunday, the St. Louis Cardinals completed a three-game sweep in Houston with a 7-5 win in 10 innings. Astros star Yordan Alvarez belted his major league-leading 10th homer and is hitting .333, while Jose Altuve went 3-for-5 to raise his average to .298.
“We’ve got to see where everything is going wrong, in terms of pretty much everything,” Houston shortstop Carlos Correa said. “Definitely, we’ve got to look in the mirror and see what things we can do better.”
Arrighetti made his season debut on April 15 against the Colorado Rockies, striking out 10 in six innings after being recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land. He had a 1.26 ERA in three starts with the Space Cowboys of the Pacific Coast League.
Once a highly regarded prospect, Arrighetti made two appearances (one start) with a 2.25 ERA against the Guardians in 2024. He struck out 10 and walked six over eight innings.
It took four starters to get injured for Arrighetti to get the call, which he worried might not come until later in the season.
“When you get optioned, you start to have some doubts about yourself,” he said. “I feel like I answered some doubts for myself (by beating Colorado). I just have to do whatever I can when my name is called.”
–Field Level Media
