Guardians Humbled By Blue Jays Offense in Crushing Defeat on Wednesday

The Cleveland Guardians dropped the second outing of a three-game series, leaving the outcome of the set up to

Sep 2, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Joey Cantillo (54) throws a pitch to Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Brett Bateman (21) during the first inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cleveland Guardians are going to want to forget about this one.

On Wednesday, Sept. 2, the Toronto Blue Jays leveled the three-game series at Progressive Field with a dominant victory over the Guardians, 10-0. With a mix of base knocks, home runs and self-inflicted wounds from the Guardians, Toronto moseyed to a series-tying win.

Here are three takeaways from the Guardians' loss on Wednesday:

Sep 2, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Joey Cantillo (54) walks off the field after giving up his seventh run during the third inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Starter Joey Cantillo Struggled To Get in a Rhythm

2026 has been a year of growth for Joey Cantillo.

And while it all may not be positive in the short-term, many experiences he has gone through has given him opportunities to learn. His 29th start of the year presented that.

Early and often, the Blue Jays' offense made him work.

He gave up one run in the first, five runs in the second and one run in the third, before exiting in the sixth inning. Unfortunately, bullpen arm Carlos Hernandez would end up allowing two inherited runs to score, which ended up being attributed to Cantillo.

His night would end with 5.1 innings pitched, nine hits allowed, nine runs allowed, four earned runs allowed, one home run and two walks given up. He also threw a whopping 102 pitches, 66 of which were strikes.

Although he did allow an awful lot on the base paths, he did finish the night with six strikeouts.

While it would have been nice to see Cantillo give the Guardians a chance to take the series Wednesday night, the lack of offensive production put the team in a difficult spot as well. If anything, it's yet another opportunity for Cantillo to hit the books and learn from what went wrong.

Many times this year, the 26-year-old has had a tough outing, then bounced back the very next start.

Sep 2, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Carlos Hernandez (40) throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Carlos Hernandez's Debut Didn't Go According To Plan

Hernandez defied the odds to return to the mound following a horrible car crash back in December, there's no discounting that.

But when he made his season debut with the Guardians' major league roster, he was put in a difficult spot.

Down 9-0, the coaching staff turned to the 29-year-old right-handed reliever who was called up earlier this week. He entered in the sixth inning for Cantillo, before giving up a double to George Springer and a single to Vladimir Guerrero. Both resulted in runs scoring.

Eventually, he would force Alejandro Kirk to ground into a double play, ending the frame.

In the seventh, he struck out Kazuma Okamoto and Nathan Lukes, settling in nicely, before Ernie Clement lined out to center field. A nice three up, three down, made it seem like he was locked back in.

But then, to begin the eighth, he gave up a solo home run to Josh Smith.

He would be pulled moments later for position player Austin Hedges.

He finished his first appearance of the year in the big leagues with two innings of work, three hits allowed, one earned run allowed and two strikeouts. He did not walk a batter.

Aug 30, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians designated hitter Jose Ramirez (11) celebrates with right fielder Chase DeLauter (24) after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Chase DeLauter is Still Red-Hot

While the Guardians' have been up and down throughout much of the 2026 campaign, DeLauter's hot streak the last few months has been a major positive.

He continued his reliable presence at the plate on Wednesday, posting a 3-for-4 line from the plate to boost his season batting average up to .294. He also now owns an .810 OPS.

Both statistical marks are team-highs.

With his recent day-to-day status due to injury being somewhat questionable, seeing him deliver whenever he steps onto the diamond has been a big help for Cleveland.

Unfortunately, outside of DeLauter, catcher Patrick Bailey and David Fry, who entered as a pinch-hitter, were the only two other players to get on base with a hit.

As long as Wednesday's weak showing offensively doesn't snowball into Thursday's game and the weekend series against Detroit, things will be just fine. But if it does, the Guardians are going to need DeLauter's play to remain sharp to hopefully carry them along.