Cleveland's 10,000th Win? Yeah, That's a Vibe. Guardians Shut Down Padres With a One-Hitter

CLEVELAND -- History has a new chapter, and it's written in Guardians red, white, and blue. Joey Cantillo and three relievers combined on a one-hitter Saturday night, dragging Cleveland to a 6-1 beatdown of the Padres — and punching the franchise's ticket to 10,000 all-time wins.

That's right: the Guardians just became only the third AL team to hit that absurd milestone, joining the Yankees and Red Sox in the club's most exclusive penthouse.

Dealin' Cantillo

Cantillo (9-7) was straight dealing. Six innings, one lousy hit — a first-inning bleeder that hopped over Nathaniel Lowe's glove. That's it. That's the damage. The lefty completely cooled off a Padres squad that had won six straight and 16 of 20 since July 24. San Diego came in swinging; they left frozen.

Colin Holderman, Hunter Gaddis, and Erik Sabrowski slammed the door after that, keeping the Padres pinned to just that single. Cleveland hasn't thrown a no-hitter since 1981 — the longest active drought in MLB — but nights like this make you wonder if that drought's days are numbered.

Cantillo was working on limited fumes, too. He had pitched just one inning since Aug. 4 after a rain-shortened outing. A few days off? No problem. Dude dealt like he never left.

J-Ram Is Back, Watch Out

José Ramírez has been grinding since having his left hamate bone removed on June 16. Saturday, he finally looked like himself. The star third baseman ripped his first extra-base hit since the operation and added a sacrifice fly. A day off Friday? Yeah, that paid off in a big way.

The Guardians needed this one bad. They'd been stumbling —3-8 since the trade deadline — and their AL playoff hopes were starting to look like a dying emoji. This win? That's a restart button.

How The W Was Built

Cleveland grabbed a 4-1 lead in the fifth when Steven Kwan doubled in a run and Ramírez followed with his sac fly to center.

Then the seventh inning got weird — in the best way. Kwan was credited with a steal of home, and Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth had a nightmare sequence: dropped a throw, then chucked one wild to third. Two errors, two runs, game over.

What's Next

These two rematch Sunday. Padres righty Casey Mize (4-7, 3.38 ERA) makes his third start since being traded, facing Tanner Bibee (4-12, 3.99) in the series finale. If you're Cleveland, you ride this momentum. If you're San Diego? You pretend Saturday never happened.