The Cleveland Guardians are trying to beat themselves.
Night in and night out, the Guardians’ starting rotation has struggled to begin the 2026 MLB regular season. Whether it was potential aces, Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams, or end-of-rotation arms, Joey Cantillo and Slade Cecconi, each of Cleveland’s starting pitchers who have taken the mound to start the year has struggled mightily.
While it looked like Cecconi would change the notion on Sunday, March 29, he fell apart after three innings of action.
He allowed just one hit and one walk, all while striking out three batters through the first three innings, but then, in the fourth and fifth, he allowed a total of five hits, two walks and six earned runs. His first appearance of the year will net him a 12.46 ERA and 2.08 WHIP with a .316 batting average against.
But unfortunately, while his early-season ERA is incredibly high, the rest of the Guardians’ starting pitchers are all hovering around 5.0, making them not much better either.
In Williams’ first appearance of the year, he went five innings, giving up just three earned runs, all of which were found on a home run, and walked an eye-grabbing six batters.
Combined, through the first four games of the year against the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland’s starters have given up 16 hits, 14 earned runs, five home runs and 14 walks. In comparison, the bullpen, which has seen eight different arms come out and try to piece together an effective outing, has allowed just 11 hits, six earned runs, three home runs and seven walks.
In total innings pitched as well, the four-some of Williams, Bibee, Cantillo and Cecconi come in at just 18, while the bullpen has come in to try and save the day for 18.
Relievers Colin Holderman and Peyton Pallette, two arms who were added this past offseason, have already played the same amount of innings Cantillo has. That alone is concerning enough.
Each of those numbers shows a stark difference in productivity and reliability, and something that needs to change quickly if the Guardians want any chance to find success against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While the Mariners aren’t an easy team to beat, not by any means, the Guardians’ inability to get any sort of control from their starters is concerning.
As they look to forget the blunders that occurred time and time again while on the mound in Seattle, they’ll have to be ready, because moving forward, it’s not going to get any easier.
On Monday, March 30, the Guardians will begin a three-game set against the two-time defending World Series champions, the Dodgers, who are known for taking advantage of struggling pitchers.
Last season, when the Dodgers and Guardians met in the regular season, Tanner Bibee allowed seven hits, four earned runs and three walks while striking out seven. Gavin Williams also struggled, giving up four hits, four earned runs and six walks with just three strikeouts.
And unfortunately, the Dodgers only got better in the offseason.
It will be an uphill battle for the Guardians’ starting rotation to build momentum and pull themselves out of this rut, but if they want to prove they have what it takes to compete in MLB, this series will serve as a strong early test.