CLEVELAND — Brayan Rocchio gave the Guardians the swing they needed Saturday, driving a three-run homer over the wall in the bottom of the fifth inning to lift Cleveland past the Baltimore Orioles 4-2 at Progressive Field.
Batting ninth and playing shortstop, Rocchio connected with two outs and put the Guardians on the board for the first time in the game. It was the hit that broke open a tight contest and backed a strong start from Gavin Williams, who allowed one earned run across seven innings.
For Rocchio, the moment carried more weight because of the spot he occupied in the order. The ninth place in a lineup is not usually where a team looks for power or consistency, but Cleveland has started to get both from that spot. Rocchio said the feeling was “great,” and then pointed to Williams for keeping the game in reach long enough for the homer to matter.
“I want to give credit to Williams for holding the game through six innings with one run and waiting for that big hit. So I have to give credit to him,” Rocchio said.
His own read on the ball was less certain. Asked whether he thought he had squared it up well enough, Rocchio said, “To be honest, no,” adding that he hit another ball “at the same velocity, the same height” and thought that one was “a fly ball, too.”
The homer added to a season line that had been modest before Saturday but showed signs of usefulness. Rocchio was batting.222/.338/.397 on the 2026 campaign with a.735 OPS, 14 hits, two doubles, three home runs and 11 RBI. He had struck out eight times and drawn nine walks.
The Guardians needed every bit of it. Williams kept Baltimore off balance long enough for Cleveland to wait out the breakthrough, and Rocchio delivered the first runs of the afternoon from a lineup spot that is supposed to do damage after the top of the order has set the table. On Saturday, it did both jobs at once.
