Guardians: Joey Cantillo has strong start in home opener after impressive finish to 2025

CLEVELAND — Joey Cantillo is picking up where he left off last season, and that's a good thing for the Guardians. The 26-year-old lefty ended 2025 with a strong second half and Friday got the start in Cleveland's home opener at Progressive Field. While he walked off the mound with a no-decision, he pitched 5 1/3 strong innings to help the Guardians beat the Cubs 4-1. "It was cool," Cantillo said. "I've obviously never (started a home opener) before, so I thought that was a good opportunity. Stadium was electric like we thought. "It was nice to see the weather like that and the rain blow over, which was sick. It was awesome. The atmosphere, you couldn't have asked for a better first start at home and I'm glad we got the win." Cantillo began the 2025 season out of the bullpen and was sent down to Triple-A Columbus on May 27 to stretch out as a starter. He got his opportunity to join the Guardians rotation when Louis Ortiz was placed on MLB leave stemming from an investigation for pitch-rigging. In his final 13 appearances — all starts — Cantillo posted a 4-3 record with a 2.96 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP and 108 strikeouts while allowing opponents to hit .218. He's only surrendered a home run in four of his last 15 starts dating to July 3, which is tied for the third-fewest in the majors during that span. His last seven starts in 2025 were particularly strong, as he struck out 36 in 39 2/3 innings while giving up just seven earned runs for a 3-1 record, a 1.59 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He allowed more than one run just once, highlighted by an eight-inning, four-hit shutout against the Royals with no walks and five strikeouts. The Guardians banked on this kind of development when they traded for him in 2020 as part of a blockbuster deal that sent Mike Clevinger to San Diego. Cantillo was just 20 years old, and made his debut with Cleveland in 2024. "I didn't know much about Cleveland at the time, but I did actually hear that they were really good at developing pitchers," Cantillo said. "I think they've done a great job of (developing me). You apply yourself like anything else, and I'm always someone who wants to learn and get better. There were definitely some years where it was challenging, but I dove into the development aspects and maybe lost some of the performance. You have to put your time in and trust the process. This organization has done a good job and looking back it's the best thing that's happened." Cantillo's first start this year was in Seattle on March 28, and he lasted only 3 2/3 innings after throwing 99 pitches. He allowed two earned runs on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts, facing 18 batters. He did not qualify for the decision, though the Guardians won 6-5 in 10 innings. On Friday against the Cubs, he was dominant. Cantillo pitched into the sixth inning, allowing one earned run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts while throwing 82 pitches. He said one of the reasons for his success was getting more out of his change-up than he did against Seattle. "That was definitely a focal point coming into this one," Cantillo said. "Let's throw it regardless of how the first couple end up, it's a pitch we have to throw. In the past, I've thrown some where maybe the first half of the game is not great or the first few I've thrown aren't great. You've got to keep throwing it and make the adjustment with it. We did a better job of that (Friday), just mixing them in more and just going to it for swing and miss where we needed to. It's something that's going to keep getting better. I've just got to trust it and throw it." The one run may have gone down as earned, but it was the result of a miscommunication between shortstop Gabriel Arias and third baseman Jose Ramirez when a pop-up that would have been the second out of the inning dropped between them. Instead, Pete Crow-Armstrong reached second and scored on the next play when Miguel Amaya roped a double into left field. Cantillo left the sixth with runners on the corners and one out, but reliever Matt Festa got out of the jam. Arias redeemed himself when he hit the go-ahead home run in the seventh. "He was outstanding," Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said of Cantillo. "He really did a nice job of not getting too deep into counts and made pitches when he had to. He was getting weak contact. "Joey competed and I thought without his best stuff, so that's some growth there too. He was very, very good without his best stuff and gave us a great chance to win." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.