CLEVELAND — Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio is the best No. 9 hitter in Major League Baseball.
Rocchio continued his hot start to the 2026 season by reaching base in all four of his plate appearances Tuesday, May 26 in a 6-3 loss to the Washington Nationals at Progressive Field.
“That’s part of my job, trying to get on base and put the team in a good position to help them win,” Rocchio said through Guardians interpreter Agustin Rivero.
Rocchio went 3-for-3 with three singles, was hit by a pitch and scored a run in the ninth inning when Jose Ramirez grounded out.
Rocchio is batting a team-high .299, and leads all No. 9 MLB hitters in hits (52), runs (25) and RBIs (27) in 54 games.
Rocchio also flashed his defensive range to his left with an off-balance throw to record an out.
The Guardians had three other great plays defensively as center fielder Daniel Schneemann robbed Curtis Mead of a home run, and right fielder Angel Martinez and left fielder Steven Kwan each threw out a Nationals runner trying to stretch a single into a double.
“Kwanny had an assist, Marty had an assist and Schnee with the robbery,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “These guys have been great all year. Our outfield defense has been phenomenal.”
Joey Cantillo struggles through two innings against Nationals
Joey Cantillo (4-2, 3.57 ERA) was unable to get past two innings Tuesday one night after Tanner Bibee allowed five home runs in three innings against the Nationals.
Cantillo struck out one, threw two wild pitches and allowed four earned runs, four walks and three hits.
“Joey wasn’t his best tonight,” Vogt said. “Command wasn’t really there. [He threw 69] pitches through two innings. Three hits, they weren’t hitting him and so just a lot of deep counts, lack of execution. We’ve seen Joey, he’s been throwing the ball really well.”
Keibert Ruiz hit a two-run single and James Wood hit a two-run home run off Cantillo in the second inning.
“I just got to do a better job of throwing the ball over the plate,” Cantillo said. “I think the last couple of outings, we’ve gotten away with some free passes, but I think I need to obviously do a better job of just throwing the ball over the plate and I just didn’t do a great job of that at all tonight.
“… I think it was just a few pitches that maybe got away from me and some fastballs early where just some at bats got prolonged, just not executing soon enough. So, I think just a little better sense of urgency and then just putting some hitters away in some certain spots. Just got to pound the [strike] zone with my best stuff from the start of the game and not put ourselves in situations where we’re forcing ourselves to make big pitches early.”
The Guardians managed two runs May 25 and three runs May 26 against the Nationals after scoring an American League-leading 109 runs in 23 games from May 1-24.
Nationals starter Cade Cavalli pitched six innings Tuesday and allowed five hits, two walks and an earned run with seven strikeouts. His outing came a day after Zack Littell’s almost identical line of seven innings, and allowing five hits, two walks and an earned run with seven strikeouts against the Guardians.
“I feel we have faced some really good arms,” Vogt said. “That’s part of it, but we need to be better. We got to get back on our plan. We got to get back to having quality at bats, sticking to what our plan is to beat the pitcher. Sometimes really good pitchers will get you off of your plan.
“… It feels really bad right now after those two losses. And if we allow that to continue to be a mindset, then it could spiral, but we’re coming off a great road trip [with a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers and winning two out of three against the Philadelphia Phillies]. It’s been two tough losses.”
Will Dion makes MLB Debut with Guardians
Left-hander Will Dion made his MLB Debut on Tuesday after being called up from Columbus in a move that sent Logan Allen to the Clippers.
“It was everything I dreamed of and more as a kid, and it was just unbelievable,” Dion said. “I played with these boys, most of them [in the minor leagues], so it made it a lot easier out there and knowing I can trust them and they trust me.”
Dion pitched three innings and allowed five hits and two earned runs with three strikeouts.
“In his major league debut when we needed three innings, he did it efficiently and kind of a tough luck two-run [single] there at the end [by Andres Chaparro in the ninth],” Vogt said.
Vogt lauded Dion for being “a guy that’s not afraid.”
“A really fun night for Will Dion and his family,” Vogt said. “He did a phenomenal job.”
Dion was asked what it felt like to see his family at the game, and said: “Amazing. It was nice to see their faces. I haven’t seen them in months. I haven’t seen my wife [Abby] since January. … She’s in clinicals in CRNA school [in New Orleans].”
Akron Beacon Journal sports writer Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio continues to be MLB’s top No. 9 hitter
Reporting by Michael Beaven, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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