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Mar 30, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Parker Messick (77) throws pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Why The Cleveland Guardians West Coast Trip Was Successful

Originally posted on Stadium Rant | By Chris Paterakis | Last updated Apr 3, 2026 2:08 PM ET

It was a difficult start to the season for the Cleveland Guardians, facing both Seattle and the LA Dodgers away from home. Impressively, however, they ended that stretch an with an admirable 4-3 record.

Guardians Versus Mariners Series

The Cleveland Guardians opened the 2026 season in Seattle facing the Mariners. They ended up spilting the series with an impressive performance from Chase DeLauter. The reigning American League player of the week hit .353 with 4 HR’s, 5 RBI’s, and a 1.412 OPS. The rest of the offense was non-existent, making the series split even more impressive. The starting pitching had decent outings as a whole, but didn’t go long in games and gave up the long ball too frequently. Seattle hit eight total home runs in the four game series versus Cleveland pitching.

There are a couple players Guardians fans are curious to see play this season. Gabriel Arias is one of them and looks like he has the past couple seasons. Strikeouts and chasing off speed pitches has been Arias’s reputation at the plate, and early on it looks to be the same story. The Guardians utility players have shown promise to start the year. Daniel Scheenmann and Angel Martinez played multiple positions opening weekend and look to be solid options at the back end of this lineup.

The story for some of the notable players has been up and down. Leadoff hitter Steven Kwan struggled opening weekend but finished the series on a positive note. Superstar Jose Ramirez had a great opening night with a couple RBI’s, but finished the series flying and grounding out. Kyle Manzardo had a tough series versus the Mariners striking out ten times.

The bullpen was an interesting story in Seattle getting a lot of work from the fifth inning on. New bullpen arms such as Shawn Armstrong, Collin Holderman, and Connor Brogdon made their Guardian debuts. Similar to the starters, the home run ruined their outings. Rule 5 pick, Peyton Pallette, made his debut and looked pretty solid. As the Guardians head to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers, the starters will have to go deeper for the team to have a chance.

Guardians Versus Dodgers Series

The Guardians take two out of three from the Dodgers and build momentum as they head back to Cleveland. In the first game of the series, Parker Messick pitched a gem. In six innings Messick threw five strikeouts, zero walks, and allowed zero runs. A truly dominant performance against one of the best lineups in baseball. Tanner Bibee followed up Messick’s performance with a solid start. The problem on Tuesday was the offense never got going. The final game of the series is where everything came together. Gavin Williams was outstanding on the mound finishing with seven innings pitched and recording ten strikeouts and two total hits.

The offense came together in the series finale with home runs from Gabriel Arias and Jose Ramirez. Utility players like Daniel Scheenman and Angel Martinez also had productive games doing the dirty work. Ultimately, the Guardians showed that they can play with anyone especially the two time defending world champs.

Coming back to Cleveland 4-3 with below average offense in the first seven games, speaks to Cleveland’s pitching and managing. Players like Kyle Manzardo and Steven Kwan will find their groove eventually, but the youth is what Guardians fans have to look forward to.

End Of My Guardians Rant

Apr 1, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) is greeted at the dugout by manager Stephen Vogt (12) after hitting a two-run home run in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

As the Guardians face the Chicago Cubs on April 3rd, this team has already shown their resilient and tough to put away. The three headed monster in Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, and Parker Messick will continue to develop into one of the best young rotations in baseball. The bats are starting to heat up with Jose Ramriez finding his groove and Chase DeLauter building off his impressive week. The harder part of their schedule continues this week and will show how good this team really is.

This article first appeared on Stadium Rant and was syndicated with permission.

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