Another Loss Puts Guardians Behind The Curve in American League Central Race

The Guardians were led by outfielder Angel Martinez at the plate, who contributed to all three of the team's runs.

Aug 29, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Colin Holderman (35) delivers a pitch in the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cleveland Guardians continue to just beat themselves.

After dropping Friday night's affair to the Kansas City Royals, 3-0, they returned to Progressive Field on Saturday and didn't seem to improve on any of their weaknesses from the night before. The bullpen collapsed, the offense was absent and the team felt like they were on their heels the entire night.

In an 8-3 loss on Saturday, August 29, the Guardians moved to 68-68 on the campaign. As an offense, the team posted a measly five hits and two walks, with outfielder Angel Martinez contributing two knocks and three RBI.

Outside of his performance from the plate, though, it was another strugglesome outing for Cleveland.

"I mean, you know, there's, there's a lot of time left," manager Stephen Vogt said postgame. "They're, they're a really good team. We've talked about it all year; records aren't indicative of how good a team is. That's a very good team over there. We've seen two very good starters; their bullpen has good arms, and it's a really good lineup that can match up with you off the bench, so they play really good baseball, and we seem to always get their best."

Those acquired at the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline didn't look the part either, as outfielder Jo Adell and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe each did not record a hit. Starting pitcher Foster Griffin, who has had a rocky start to his career in the navy blue and red, ended up going five frames with four hits, two earned runs and one walk given up, all while striking out four batters.

It wasn't that he had a bad performance, but after Cleveland got out to a 2-0 lead early, he handed it away in the fifth before exiting.

Then, from there, the Royals started surging and the bullpen didn't have a response prepared.

Colin Holderman entered for Foster in the sixth inning, giving up a whopping four hits, four runs and three earned runs. Erik Sabrowski joined the fun and tried to end the run the Royals were on, but only ended up contributing more to it, allowing a hit and giving up a walk.

Matt Festa would be the hero for Cleveland, going 1.1 innings after closing out the sixth and mitigating the damage done.

Unfortunately, with a lackluster offense and the Royals holding the game nicely, there wouldn't be enough for the Guardians to claw back with.

Logan Allen completed the final two innings, giving up three hits and two earned runs as the Royals secured the series win.

"It's just the ebbs and flows of baseball," Griffin said when reflecting on the game. "We're approaching September, but you know there's no reason that this team and that locker room in there can't rattle off another 8 in a row, 7 in a row like we did before."

The Guardians, certainly, still have a good chunk of work to do if they want to play meaningful baseball in just a few weeks.

Back in action on Sunday, the two sides will square away for the series finale from Progressive Field at 1:40 p.m. EST.