DeGrom’s sharp start and Cantillo’s tough day send Rangers past Guardians 10-0

The Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Guardians 10-0 on Sunday to conclude a road trip that had the Guardians reminding themselves they were “right where we need to be” in the standings, even after a tough result. From the start at Globe Life Field, the margin for error felt thin against Jacob deGrom, and once Texas took a two-run lead in the first inning, Cleveland never found a foothold against the Rangers ace.

DeGrom retired the side on eight pitches after the opening frame, and he kept the Guardians off balance long enough for Texas to extend the advantage at key moments. On offense, Cleveland managed its first baserunner in the third when Steven Kwan led off with a single. The Guardians did not put another runner into scoring position often, and deGrom converted multiple threats into outs, including a fifth-inning sequence where Angel Martínez and Kwan reached and José Ramírez ended the threat by striking out.

For Joey Cantillo, the day unraveled in the early innings. The left-hander allowed a two-run, two-out home run to Justin Foscue in the first. Texas then tagged Cantillo for four additional runs in the third, starting with a home run by Josh Jung and adding a two-run double from Ezequiel Duran. In the fourth, Wyatt Langford made it even more difficult, going deep again, and by the time the game was moving into late innings, the deficit had turned into a full shutout.

The statistical damage was notable. The three home runs and nine hits allowed by Cantillo were the most he had given up in his career, and the seven earned runs matched a career high. Even so, there was a thread the Guardians could point to for progress: Cantillo managed to get through five innings, after going four and then two in his previous two starts.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt praised both sides of the pitching story. He said deGrom was on his “A’ game,” getting a lead and pitching accordingly. Vogt also described Cantillo’s first impression as better strike quality and strike throwing than Cleveland had seen “in a while,” before saying the left-hander got hurt on pitches he left over the plate as Texas worked him into higher pitch counts.

Offensively, the Rangers controlled the pace, and deGrom finished with a sequence that reinforced how clean his stuff looked down the stretch. He struck out José Ramírez on three pitches to begin the second time through the order, and he added a strikeout of the side in the sixth to close the door. The win was deGrom’s first against the Guardians in his 13-year career, and Sunday marked the sixth time Cleveland had been shut out this season.

Even with the 10-run final and a blanking defeat, Cleveland framed the day as part of a broader team-building moment. Vogt pointed to what he saw during a 3-3 road trip to New York and Texas, and Austin Hedges echoed that theme after pitching the eighth to help preserve bullpen strength. “A split on the road, still in first place,” Hedges said, summing up the message the Guardians carried home despite the way Sunday ended.