Sunday Showing by Cantillo Against Orioles Lays Groundwork for 2026 Improvements

Cantillo has pitched to a 3.20 ERA across five starts during the 2026 campaign, working in his off-speed pitches a good amount to keep batters on their heels.

Apr 19, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Joey Cantillo (54) delivers to Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) during the first inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images | David Dermer-Imagn Images

Joey Cantillo’s struggles from 2025 resurfaced at times on Sunday night.

But while that’s an uncomfortable sign, what followed after he hit a wall shifts the narrative in a different direction.

On Sunday, April 19, the Cleveland Guardians played host to the Baltimore Orioles for a series-finale bash, downing them, 8-4. In the win, Cantillo pitched through 4.2 innings, striking out six batters in the process.

Unfortunately, for his season ERA, it hopped up to 3.20 on the year. While he did send six batters packing, he gave up five hits, four runs, three earned runs and three walks in arguably his most shaky performance of the campaign.

"It was a command thing today," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said about Cantillo's outing. "I thought, you know, just not enough strikes. I thought he battled his way through those first four [innings] and kind of got himself out of some jams, made pitches when he needed to, and then the command just kind of got away from him there in the fifth.

"But, you know, again, we've seen Joey snap out of it in one pitch or one hitter or, 3-0 count and then he'll come back and punch the guy out. So just continue to work."

That last point Vogt made stands out as the true narrative for Sunday's outing.

Cantillo is still young, coming into the 2026 campaign as a 26-year-old. With him only being in year three of major league action and having just barely over 150 innings under his belt, he's going to experience bumps in the road. However, it's what he does when faced with adversity that sets him up for failure or success.

And with him being able to push through some difficult innings on Sunday, it shows that the mental side of his game has grown tremendously.

After all, just last season, he was sent back down to the minors near the end of the campaign because he was struggling to stay composed on the mound. When he was faced with runners in scoring position or just simply giving up runs, he would become flustered, and the issues would begin snowballing.

Alongside his comments on Sunday night, Vogt said back during the series against Kansas City that Cantillo's biggest step forward has been his maturity and composure.

"[He's] more sure of himself," manager Stephen Vogt said when asked about the differences from last year to this year. "I think last year, Joey was really trying to find himself as a big league starter. And what we’ve seen so far, last September and now rolling into this year, is he knows who he is, and he knows what he needs to do to go compete."

A pitcher as young as Cantillo can only develop so far on his own; he needs veterans around him to accelerate that growth. Few have done more in that regard than veteran catcher Austin Hedges, whose game-calling ability has been instrumental in making sure Cantillo is comfortable on the mound.

"Hedgie knows how to navigate a game," Vogt said on Sunday. "He knows how to navigate his pitchers. And like we said, our catchers are so good at knowing our pitchers and what their tendencies are. That was a big moment. I think it was the first inning. Hedgie went out there and kind of locked him back in. So, great job. Great game by Hedgie all around."

Even if Cantillo did have some bumps along the way on Sunday, he's continuing to trend in the right direction and show important growth for his long-term development timeline.

Cantillo's next dance on the diamond comes on Saturday, April 25, in a 3:07 p.m. EST first pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays.