Pitching Dooms Guardians in Road Rubber Match Against Rangers, Cantillo Allows Seven

Cantillo has had a few tough outings lately, giving up

Jun 7, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Joey Cantillo (54) looks on from the dugout during the third inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Just five starts ago, Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Joey Cantillo sported a 2.98 ERA.

But following a five-inning performance against the Texas Rangers in a road rubber match, the 26-year-old southpaw's ERA has shot up to 4.57. It's been a rocky road recently, and with the heart of the campaign nearing, Cantillo will have to work to pull himself out of this mini-rut.

The struggles started early, as the Rangers immediately pounced on Cantillo.

Following a strikeout from Wyatt Langford, Josh Jung singled to center field. From there, Justin Foscue homered on a low 86.3 mph cutter, smacking it to deep left field. Down 2-0 and already on their heels, the Guardians would never recover.

They would go on to lose 10-0, with runs also being given up from reliever Will Dion and catcher, yes, catcher, Austin Hedges.

Cantillo gave up a home run to Jung in the top of the third inning, before Brandon Nimmo doubled, Justin Foscue walked and then Ezequiel Duran doubled to bring both around the bags to score. Out of the blue, the Rangers led 5-0. They would score one more time that frame with Jake Burger posting an RBI single.

Langford joined the fun one more time in the fourth inning, homering to left field.

Eventually, after five innings of up-and-down pitching, Cantillo exited the outing having allowed nine hits, seven earned runs, and two walks. He did strike out an impressive seven batters, but the three home runs he surrendered and surplus of marks on the scoreboard ultimately overshadowed those efforts.

Through 14 starts, he now owns a 4.57 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and .259 batting average against across 67 innings pitched. He has walked a staggering 36 batters, the most on the team and the third most in MLB.

But while Cantillo struggled on the mound on Sunday, those at the plate for the Guardians did as well.

In total, they posted just six knocks and two walks drawn, striking out eight times, signaling yet another concerning display from the offense. Throughout the last few series, Cleveland's inconsistent offense has hindered them tremendously.

Just a few days back, the Guardians dropped the series finale to the New York Yankees, posting two hits and four walks in a 2-1 defeat.

On the season, the Guardians remain seven games above .500 at a mark of 37-30. But with confusing losses still coming from time to time, Cleveland's ceiling seems to be somewhat of a big question mark.

With Gavin Williams on the bump, the Guardians meet right back up with the Yankees in the coming week, this time, though, at home. The two sides will open the series on Monday, June 8, at 6:40 p.m. EST from Progressive Field.