José Ramírez homers, reaches 1,000 RBIs as Guardians down A’s 5-3, move into first alone in Central

By: Tom Withers, The Associated Press Posted: 8:49 PM CDT Friday, Sep. 18, 2026 Last Modified: 10:04 PM CDT Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

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CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez and rookie Travis Bazzana homered and Joey Cantillo pitched six scoreless innings as the Cleveland Guardians rallied to beat the Athletics 5-3 on Friday night and moved one game ahead of Chicago in the AL Central.

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Ramírez connected in the sixth inning to give the Guardians a two-run cushion. His 12th homer was also the seven-time All-Star’s 1,000th RBI, making him just the second Cleveland player to reach the plateau. Earl Averill drove in 1,084 runs.

Bazzana snapped a 3-3 tie in the fifth as the Guardians came back after falling behind 3-0 in the first.

Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez, right, watches his solo home run off Athletics relief pitcher Seth Johnson as Athletics catcher Jonah Heim, left, looks on during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Cleveland, 18-9 since Aug. 20, came in tied with Chicago for first in the division. The White Sox, who blew a six-run lead and were beaten 11-8 by the Detroit Tigers, hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Cantillo (10-9) allowed two hits in six innings after replacing opener Daniel Espino. Cantillo has not given up a run in 10 innings over his past two outings.

Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith finished off the combined three-hitter. Smith worked the ninth for his 38th save.

Zack Gelof hit a three-run homer for the A’s, who are 0-4 on their final road trip of 2026.

Bazzana put Cleveland ahead 4-3 in the fifth with his 15th homer, a 411-foot leadoff drive to center off Scott Blewett (2-1).

The Guardians had squandered early scoring chances, loading the bases in the first two innings but failing to push a run across.

Cleveland finally strung some hits together in the fourth, scoring three times off starter Mason Barnett to tie it.

Rocchio, who leads all MLB No. 9 hitters in RBI with 50, delivered a two-run double and scored on Ramírez’s two-out single.

Espino opened for Cleveland and started poorly.

The right-hander walked three in the first and allowed the three-run homer to Gelof, his 19th.

Up Next

LHP Jacob Lopez (6-4, 5.02 ERA) starts Saturday for Oakland against Tanner Bibee (6-15, 4.16), who has gotten minimal support (3.05 runs per game) this season.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb