It wasn’t pretty, and the Cleveland Guardians certainly made it tough on themselves at times, but the team walked away with a series victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Here are three takeaways after the Guardians won three out of four games against their AL East foe.
It’s been a tough week for the bullpen. There’s no other way around it. The group gave up seven earned run over the last four games, and was responsible for Cleveland’s loss on Friday evening. These concerns even go back to Cleveland’s series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, too.
However, the Guardians haven’t had an off day in over a week, and that could also be playing a factor in some of the group's woes, too.
Chris Antonetti said ahead of the series finale that the organization still believes in the group they have. While that may be true and the team isn’t worried yet, it’s still worth monitoring.
At some point, you just have to call it how it is: Daniel Schneemann is an everyday player for the Guardians right now, and his performance against the Orioles solidified that reality.
The left-handed hitter started three of the four games against Baltimore and was at the heart of Cleveland’s series victory. He ended up going 3-for-9 in the series and got on base in each contest. This stat line included a grand slam with two outs in Friday night's game.
After this series, Schneemann’s season slash line is .302/.351/.528. As long as he’s hitting a hot bat, there’s no reason he should be out of the Guardians’ lineup.
The only question is, where did he play in the field? To Cleveland’s advantage, not only can Schneemann play just about every position, but he can do it at an elite level. He started games in center field, shortstop, and third base against the Orioles, and made plays at each position.
Un-Schnee-lievable.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/LxyLAVrJaZ
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) April 18, 2026
The development of Brayan Rocchio has been one of the best surprises for the Guardians this season, and that continued against the Orioles.
Cleveland’s switch-hitter went 5-for-10 in the series, including a three-hit day in the finale, and drove in six of Cleveland’s runs, including a three-run homer in the Guardians' win on Saturday night. That, and Rocchio continues to play impressive defense at shortstop and has seemingly reacclimated himself perfectly following th Gabriel Arias injury.
Stephen Vogt said that we’re seeing Rocchio grow into a big-leaguer, and he certainly showed that against the Orioles.
Guardians Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Guardians. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.