Major League schedules have a way of evening out over six months and 162 games. In that regard, the future looks bright for the Guardians, though the current homestand did not start in a positive way.
The Guardians returned to Progressive Field on June 24 for the start of a three-game series with the Toronto after a day off preceded by three games in Seattle, a day off, three games in San Francisco and three in Sacramento against the Athletics, formerly of Oakland. The Cardinals will roost in Cleveland for three games after the Blue Jays fly away.
Weary is a good word to describe the Guardians 77 games into the season. They are treading water, one game above .500 at 39-38, but a more telling number might be their 17-27 mark against teams with winning records after being scalded by the Blue Jays in the series opener, 10-6.
“We were sluggish. We didn’t look like ourselves tonight,” manager Stephen Vogt after the #Guardians lost to the Blue Jays, 10-6, Monday night. pic.twitter.com/9I0B9COH6U
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) June 25, 2025
The Guards were totally dominated by Blue Jays left-handed starter Eric Lauer — the pride of Midview High School in Grafton. Lauer, in his seventh Major League season and first with the Blue Jays, was pitching a shutout with one out in the sixth inning before giving up a solo home run to Carlos Santana. Lauer scattered five hits, walked three batters and struck out five.
The Blue Jays’ Eric Lauer delivers during the first inning against the Guardians on June 24. (Sue Ogrocki – The Associated Press)
“I haven’t seen any replays, but it looked like from the side the curve ball really got us slowed up,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said when asked about Lauer. “The fastball has a lot of sneaky life. It doesn’t show up on the numbers, but from the side you could see it’s got some jump.”
Toronto led, 6-1, before a three-run homer by Lane Thomas in the seventh made it a 6-4 game. George Springer hit a grand slam home run off Hunter Gaddis in the top of the eighth to put the game out of reach.
The Guardians were also guilty of three errors — two by right fielder Johnathan Rodriguez on the same play. Before losing to the Jays, the Guardians were 30-7 when they scored four or more runs.
‘I thought we came out sluggish tonight,” Vogt said. “I thought it looked like we had a West Coast trip and we just didn’t look like ourselves today. It was hot. Those are all excuses. We need to be better, but we just didn’t look like ourselves all night tonight.”
But the good news for the Guardians is they won’t have to play another game in California in 2025 unless they meet the Dodgers, Giants or Padres in the World Series.
Nothing against the state. It’s just that California is three time zones away and a long way from home even on a chartered non-stop flight.
“I think that’s my first time ever having an 11-day trip,” Vogt, in his second season as Guardians manager, said before the game. Vogt was a catcher for 10 Major League seasons. “East Coast time to West Coast time. Wow, that’s a beast. And our guys did great.
“So yeah, we’re happy that we don’t have to go back to the West Coast. We get to stay close to home. That was a long 11-day trip — two off-days, nine games, weird hours. We got punched in the teeth in Seattle and then came back to win the next two series.
“That’s the resilience of this group. It would’ve been real easy to limp into San Francisco, but we came out and hit the ground running. So glad that those are over with and we’re right back at it with a tough Toronto team back home.”
For the record, Vogt wasn’t complaining about the schedule. He was responding to a reporter asking him about getting the West Coast trips out of the way before the calendar flips to July.
The Guardians opened the season in Kansas City followed by three games in San Diego and three against the Angels in Anaheim. Eighty-five games remain in the regular season. The only road games more than one time zone from Cleveland are against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Aug. 18-20.
“I’m happy we don’t have to go back out to the West Coast,” said 39-year-old Santana, who on June 24 played in Game No. 2,152 of his 16-year career. “It’s a little bit tough with the time difference, especially for me, but the schedule is the schedule. I think it’s good for the team that we got that over before the All-Star break.”
Another thing: The Guardians have played 42 road games and 36 at the cozy confines of Progressive Field, where they are 20-16. They have 13 remaining series against teams with winning records, 13 against teams with losing records and one against a .500 team — the 40-40 Red Sox on Sept. 1-3.