Guardians fall to Rangers, but magic number down to 2 to win Central Division

CLEVELAND — The champagne remained on ice. There were no celebrations on Friday, as the Guardians were rocked 7-3 by the Texas Rangers before 36,275 at Progressive Field. Cleveland (86-74) remains tied for first place in the AL Central Division with the Detroit Tigers, even though the Guardians own the tiebreaker. Two games remain in the 2025 season. The Guardians have now lost two in a row at the worst possible time. If they don't get back on the winning track, they could conceivably fall out of the wild-card race. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said his team just has to move on. "We control our own destiny," he said. "Every game is magnified. This group is not fazed by anything." Texas, which was eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday, came into the contest having lost nine of its last 10 games. Despite missing several key performers to injuries, the Rangers weren't ready to roll over for the Guardians. They are now 4-0 vs. Cleveland this season and have outscored the Guardians 26-5. Texas (81-79) jumped all over right-hander Slade Cecconi (7-7, 4.30) in the first. Rowdy Tellez doubled off the center-field wall to drive in Joc Pederson with Texas' first run. Alejandro Osuna then unloaded on a three-run homer that traveled an estimated 406 feet to center for a 4-0 advantage. "I didn't have my best command to start the game," Cecconi said. "(Osuna) hit my best pitch for a homer. I was able to figure things out and find my tempo after that. "Some days you find it before the game. Some days it's a grind from pitch one to 100. I had too many inconsistencies early." Cecconi was limited to four innings and 75 pitches (45 for strikes). He allowed five hits, four runs (all earned) and one walk, while striking out three. "I didn't think Slade had his sharpest stuff tonight," Vogt said. "(His) curveball just didn't quite have bite. It didn't seem like Slade was super sharp." The Guardians wasted little time getting back in the game. Designated hitter Kyle Manzardo blasted a two-out, two-run homer, his 27th of the season, to trim Cleveland's deficit to 4-2 in the first. It traveled an estimated 417 feet. "I was just trying to hit something hard and see if I could grab a gap or find a way to score one run," Manzardo said. The Guardians wasted a golden opportunity when Gabriel Arias doubled to lead off the second and moved to third on an infield grounder. C.J. Kayfus and Brayan Rocchio both fanned to end the possible threat. Cleveland put little pressure on right-hander Jack Leiter (10-10, 3.86) the rest of the way. He's one of the reasons the Rangers' pitching staff leads the majors with a 3.45 ERA. He allowed four hits and two runs (both earned) and one walk in seven strong innings. The rookie struck out 10, which equaled his career high set against Cleveland on Aug. 23. "He settled in and was really good," Vogt said. "That fastball's real. I mean that's 98, 99 mph. We just weren't able to get enough going. We weren't able to come through with that big hit." Leiter, whose father Al was a two-time All-Star and won three World Series titles in his 19-year career, made his 29th start of the season. That matched Yu Darvish for the most starts by a Rangers rookie in the last 20 seasons. Texas pushed across three critical insurance runs in the seventh against three Guardians relievers. The big hit was a two-run single by Cody Freeman. Jake Burger's run-scoring single opened up a 7-2 bulge. Reliever Jakob Junis surrendered four hits and two runs in one-third of an inning. Cleveland scored a run in the ninth on Arias' single, which drove in Jose Ramirez. It was Ramirez's 1,000th career run scored. "The only thing we can do is show up tomorrow and be ready to keep fighting and get back in the win column," Manzardo said. The Guardians have to take care of business today and Sunday. "We're focused on us, man," Cecconi said. "We're trying to win the next two games and take care of it. I'm confident in these guys coming in here (today) and getting the job done. It's a great spot to be in." Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com.