Jo Adell overcomes pain in six-RBI eruption against Giants

Cleveland Guardians right fielder Jo Adell. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Guardians' Jo Adell overcomes pain in six-RBI eruption against Giants

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Aug 19, 2026 12:02 AM ET

Cleveland Guardians right fielder Jo Adell delivered one of the best performances of his career on Tuesday, even after suffering an injury.

In the first inning of Cleveland's home game against the San Francisco Giants, Adell suffered a knee contusion after fouling a pitch from starting pitcher Carson Whisenhunt. Guardians trainer Jeff Desjardins then checked on him, but he remained in the game. The team is glad he did.

Jo Adell overcomes pain in offensive eruption against Giants

Moments later, Adell crushed an 85 mph changeup, sending in third baseman Jose Ramirez and left fielder Steven Kwan, giving the Guardians a 3-0 lead. The 455-foot home run was his longest of the season.

"Just the magic touch of Jeff Desjardins," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said while discussing Adell's monster homer in a postgame news conference (h/t Joe Noga of Cleveland.com). "It seems like every time we go out and check on somebody, they do something pretty special."

Jo Adell CRUSHES a 455-foot homer high into the bleachers pic.twitter.com/dfGpAla0PL
— MLB (@MLB) August 18, 2026

No kidding. Adell delivered plenty more fireworks after his big blast in the first inning. He drove in a career-high six RBI, powering the Guardians (61-65) to an 8-1 win over the Giants (51-74).

Desjardins' magic touch only lasted for so long, though. Adell exited in the eighth inning when he could no longer bear the pain. He didn't speak with the media because he was receiving treatment.

"He fouled that ball off his knee pretty hard," Vogt said. "That's why we took him out of the game. He was feeling some pretty good pain as the game went on. So we have to evaluate him day to day. Had to get him off his feet. We have to see how he feels coming in tomorrow."

The Guardians hope he heals quickly. Since acquiring him in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 3, he hasn't quite found his groove in Cleveland. Entering Tuesday night, he had slashed .167/.280/.405 in 12 games for the Guardians after slashing .239/.287/.395 in 111 games with the Angels.

Tuesday's game should be a confidence-booster for Adell. If he did that while battling a painful injury, what can he do when he's healthy?

Clark Dalton

Clark Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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