Cleveland Guardians Look to Keep Strong 2026 Start Alive Against Atlanta Braves

The Cleveland Guardians may be the most underrated team in baseball.

Following a 15.5-game deficit to win the American League Central in 2025, the Guardians have begun the 2026 campaign with similar levels of success. Through the first 13 games of the year, three of which came against the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland is sporting an 8-5 overall record.

And they still haven't lost a series yet, splitting with the Mariners, beating the Dodgers, taking down the Cubs and winning the last two straight over the Royals.

Even with this level of early-season success against some of the league's better teams, the Guardians' schedule only grows tougher.

On Friday, April 10, the Guardians will begin a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. In unfamiliar territory, the ragtag group of youngsters will have to continue finding ways to secure victories.

The Most Recent Series Against Kansas City

For the team's second straight homestand, the Guardians continued to grow in a number of different ways.

On the mound, the starters looked incredibly effective, with Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee and Joey Cantillo all tossing strong outings. Williams' start helped lead the Guardians to a 2-1 victory on Tuesday, while Cantillo, with the help of a season-best 16 hits from the offense, marched to a 10-2 finish just a day later on Wednesday.

While the Guardians' starters were excellent, the bullpen also looked good.

A combination of Erik Sabrowski, Shawn Armstrong and Cade Smith all saw action in the series against the Royals, with each of them helping close out in late-game situations.

In the win on Wednesday, Sabrowski struck out one in 0.2 innings. A day prior, he struck out two in one inning. He still hasn't allowed a run through more than six innings pitched.

With the Guardians' pitchers playing so well, the result came down to the bats getting in a groove and pulling away wins. Fortunately, on both Tuesday and Wednesday, Cleveland's strugglesome bats got going.

Across both games, Cleveland's lineup combined for an impressive 24 total hits and seven total walks, getting on base by any means necessary.

The combination of youngsters Juan Brito, who made his major league debut on Tuesday, Chase DeLauter, CJ Kayfus, Angel Martinez and Brayan Rocchio all had different moments where they shone for the Guardians. Each of them, minus Brito, has all left the yard recently as well.

Combined, these five athletes are batting an average of .265 with 36 hits, 15 of which have been for extra bases.

If Cleveland can continue to get a good balance of players getting on base at the top and bottom of their lineup, they'll have a good chance of shocking Atlanta and taking yet another series to begin the campaign.

What's with the Braves?

It's not going to be an easy path ahead, even with arguably Cleveland's best stretch of pitching over the past two seasons.

They'll be going up against some of the league's best power hitters, with multiple players leaving the yard to start the year. Catcher Drake Baldwin currently has 17 hits, one double and five home runs for 15 RBI, while first baseman Matt Olson isn't too far behind with six doubles and three home runs for eight RBI.

As a whole, the Braves have six players with 10 or more hits, while the Guardians have just two.

Outfielders Ronald Acuna and Michael Harris each have 10 knocks, combining for five total extra-base hits.

The Braves enter this series second in MLB in total home runs with 17 and fifth in hits with a total of 112. To put it simply, the Guardians' arms are going to have a tough road ahead.

And unfortunately, the bats will as well.

The combination of starting arms Chris Sale, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder, Reynaldo Lopez and Jose Suarez have looked like one of the better rotations in the league. Elder still hasn't allowed an earned run, while Lopez and Holmes have allowed just two and five, respectively.

Cleveland is projected to take on Elder, Martin Perez and Sale.

Currently, the Braves' pitching staff, starters and bullpen arms, are averaging a measly 2.03 ERA with three shutouts.

Of all the teams Cleveland has faced to begin 2026, this may be the toughest task yet.

The Guardians' first chance to keep their new winning streak alive will be on Friday night with first pitch slated for 7:15 p.m. EST.