Ramírez homers, reaches 1,000 RBIs as Guardians down A’s

September 18, 2026 - 7:41 pm The Cleveland Guardians secured a 5-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night, moving ahead in the AL Central race. José Ramírez delivered a pivotal home run in the sixth inning, extending Cleveland’s lead by two runs. The blast marked his 12th homer of the season and, notably, his 1,000th career RBI, making him only the second Guardians player to reach that milestone; Earl Averill holds the franchise record with 1,084 RBIs. Rookie Travis Bazzana broke a 3-3 deadlock in the fifth inning with a solo shot that cleared the fence at 411 feet. His leadoff homer came off Scott Blewett (2-1) and capped a rally after Oakland had taken a 3-0 advantage in the opening frame. Joey Cantillo turned in six scoreless innings on the mound, yielding just two hits after taking over from opener Daniel Espino. Cantillo, now 10-9, has not surrendered a run across his last ten innings spanning two appearances. Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith combined for a three-hitter, with Smith closing out the ninth for his 38th save of the year. Oakland’s offense relied on a three-run blast by Zack Gelof, his 19th homer of the season. The Athletics remain winless on their most recent road trip, falling to 0-4, and have announced plans to relocate to Las Vegas ahead of the 2028 season, when they will open play at a new ballpark situated on the Strip. Cleveland entered the contest tied with Chicago for first place in the division, boasting an 18-9 record since August 20. The White Sox retain the head‑to‑head tiebreaker. Additional offensive contributions came from Rocchio, who leads all MLB No. 9 hitters with 50 RBIs. He ripped a two‑run triple and later scored on Ramírez’s two‑out single. Espino’s start proved shaky; he issued three walks in the first inning and served up Gelof’s three‑run homer. Looking ahead, left‑hander Jacob Lopez (6-4, 5.02 ERA) is slated to start for Oakland on Saturday, facing Tanner Bibee (6-15, 4.16), who has averaged just 3.05 runs of support per game this season.