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Athletics at Cleveland Guardians

Fri Sep 187:10 PM ETCleveland, OH
By JR·2 min read
AthleticsATH(61-92)
Cleveland GuardiansCLE(78-75)
3—5
FINAL
Final123456789RHE
ATH
300000000330
CLE
00031100—5100

TLDR: Cleveland spotted Oakland a 3-run first inning at Progressive Field and then erased it, answering with runs in three straight innings on the way to a 5-3 win Friday night.

Daniel Espino (0-0, 4.73 ERA) got the ball for Cleveland against Mason Barnett (1-4, 7.16), and neither line coming in hinted at a start that would swing this hard in both directions. Espino, still working his way back from a lost few seasons and not fully stretched out, ran into trouble immediately, letting Oakland put 3 runs on the board in the top of the 1st.

FINAL
Spread
WIN
Total
Athletics
(61-92)
LLLWL
3
Guardians
(78-75)
WWLWL
5
1st pitch70°

Oakland jumped Cleveland for 3 runs in the top of the 1st, but the Guardians answered with runs in the 4th, 5th and 6th to win 5-3 at Progressive Field, out-hitting the A's 10-3 along the way.

Athletics
  • Scored 3 runs on just 3 hits in the 1st
  • Kept Cleveland off the board for 3 innings early
  • Managed only 3 hits all game, none after the 1st
  • Barnett and the pen allowed 5 unanswered runs
Guardians
  • Answered a 3-0 deficit with runs in 3 straight innings
  • Out-hit Oakland 10-3 with zero errors
  • Espino allowed all 3 Oakland runs in the 1st
  • Needed 3 separate small bursts rather than one big inning

Cleveland was already down Angel Martinez and Chase DeLauter, both day-to-day, while Oakland took the field already missing Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom for the rest of the season. None of that stopped the Athletics from cashing in early, and for a few innings Friday looked like the version of this game the board didn't expect.

Mason Barnett
Mason Barnett
(1-4)·7.16 ERA
Aug 17 @ Royals
L
2.2IP
6ER
2K
4BB
83P
09/18 Lineup
Daniel Espino
Daniel Espino
(0-0)·4.73 ERA
Sep 12 @ Twins
ND
2.0IP
0ER
2K
0BB
26P
09/18 Lineup

That version didn't last. Cleveland answered with runs in the 4th, 5th and 6th, three separate scoring innings that turned a 3-0 hole into a 5-3 lead the Athletics never got back.

Oakland's night ended almost exactly where it started, with 3 total hits and nothing to show after that first-inning outburst. Cleveland's went the other way, piling up 10 hits across the 9 innings and finishing with 0 errors.

Athletics
(12)
  • 15-Day-ILGage Jump (SP) — The Athletics placed Jump on the 15-day injured list Tuesday, retroactive to Sept. 13, due to a left shoulder impingement.09/15
  • 15-Day-ILJ.T. Ginn (SP) — Ginn (elbow) is behind schedule in his recovery program and could miss the rest of the 2026 season, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.09/11
  • 60-Day-ILBrooks Kriske (RP) — The Athletics announced that Kriske underwent season-ending surgery Sept. 1 to address a right shoulder impingement, MLB.com reports.09/17
  • 60-Day-ILBrent Rooker (DH) — Rooker (knee) was cleared to begin a hitting progression Wednesday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.09/16
  • 60-Day-ILNick Kurtz (1B) — Kurtz (thumb) began a hitting progression Wednesday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.09/16
  • 60-Day-ILJoshua Kuroda-Grauer (3B) — Kuroda-Grauer (testicle) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday, Jason Burke of Roundtable.io reports.09/15
  • 60-Day-ILLuis Severino (SP) — Severino (shoulder) logged a bullpen session Saturday and is expected to have a normal offseason, per MLB.com.09/14
  • 60-Day-ILJacob Wilson (SS) — Wilson underwent left shoulder labral surgery Wednesday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.09/11
  • 60-Day-ILTyler Soderstrom (LF) — The Athletics transferred Soderstrom (hip) to the 60-day injured list Thursday.08/20
  • 60-Day-ILJustin Sterner (RP) — The Athletics transferred Sterner (knee) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.08/16
  • 60-Day-ILMark Leiter Jr. (RP) — Leiter will undergo surgery Tuesday to address a right hip impingement and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.07/30
  • 60-Day-ILGunnar Hoglund (SP) — Hoglund (knee/back) will be sidelined for the rest of the 2026 season after undergoing surgery on his left hip Monday.05/20
Cleveland Guardians
(4)
  • Day-To-DayAngel Martinez (LF) — Martinez (side) remains out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Athletics, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.09/18
  • 10-Day-ILRhys Hoskins (1B) — Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Friday that Hoskins (back) has begun a swing progression program, MLB.com reports.09/12
  • 15-Day-ILColin Holderman (RP) — Holderman was forced to exit Thursday's rehab outing with Triple-A Columbus after aggravating his right wrist injury, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.09/18
  • 60-Day-ILShawn Armstrong (RP) — Armstrong (calf) didn't record a strikeout while allowing one run on two hits in one inning during a rehab appearance Friday with Triple-A Columbus.09/12

Barnett came in with a 7.16 ERA and did nothing Friday to argue against it, giving up the bulk of Cleveland's rally before Oakland turned to its bullpen to try to hold the rest of it together. It didn't. The Guardians kept adding on through the 6th before both bullpens settled in and the score held at 5-3 the rest of the way.

Athletics
(61-92)
09/17L@Rays1-10
09/16L@Rays3-4
09/15L@Rays1-2
09/13WvsMariners8-7
09/12LvsMariners1-19
Cleveland Guardians
(78-75)
09/16WvsWhite Sox6-3
09/15WvsWhite Sox7-6
09/14LvsWhite Sox3-7
09/13W@Twins9-2
09/12L@Twins3-4

The Polymarket chat room's busiest stretch of the night came as Cleveland's rally got rolling, with "like for home run" pulling in reactions and someone holding an Oakland first-five prop still pleading for "a run here boys" as the game slipped away. The win pushes Cleveland's active streak to 3, while Oakland is now riding a 4-game skid with a lineup already thinned by four regulars lost for the season.

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