Ramirez, Guardians Even Series With Rangers

Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images

June 7, 2026

Guardians 6, Rangers 0

ARLINGTON, Texas (June 6) — The Texas Rangers couldn’t wake up their bats as they fell to the Cleveland Guardians, 6–0, Saturday. Jose Ramirez and Brayan Rocchio provided some of the offense with one long ball apiece. The Rangers will have a chance to win this three-game set Sunday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 1:35 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Left-hander Joey Cantillo (4–2, 3.92 ERA) will face righty Jacob deGrom (4–4, 3.48), who is fresh off his 100th career win.

Scoreless Through Three

The Guardians got on the board first in the top of the fourth off righty Jack Leiter. Ramirez led off with a home run to right-center on a 1–2 pitch, his 10th of the season.

They stretched the lead to 5–0 in the top of the fifth. Rocchio hit a one-out solo homer to right on a 1–0 pitch. After Travis Bazzana popped out to Jake Burger at first, Ramirez drew a walk. He quickly swiped second for his 23rd stolen base of the year. He advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Kyle Higashioka. Ramirez scored on a single to right by Chase DeLauter.

On deck was Kyle Manzardo, who drove in DeLauter with a line-drive double to right.

The Guardians pushed one more across in the top of the eighth against reliever Luis Curvelo. Steven Kwan led off the frame with a single to right and Patrick Bailey reached on a throwing error by Curvelo. There was a brief delay as the Rangers’ training staff tended to Curvelo, who had to exit due to an apparent injury. The line drive hit by Bailey struck his left leg. Lefty Robby Ahlstrom was brought on in relief.

Kwan moved to third when Rocchio grounded into a 6–4 force play and he scored when Bazzana grounded into a second 6–4 force play.

What Went Right for the Guardians

The solo shots by Ramirez and Rocchio were the key moments on the offense for the Guardians. Defensively, their pitching staff only allowed three hits and two walks the entire night. Putting runs on the scoreboard is important, but keeping them off it is crucial as well. It’s a funny game, and every team in this league is capable of closing the gap quickly.

What Went Wrong for the Guardians

The Guardians left eight men on base in this contest and they went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Tough Night for Leiter

Rangers starter Jack Leiter allowed a season-high five runs and could not complete the fifth inning. His final line was 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 R-ER, 3 BB, 2 SO, 2 HR, 92 pitches/55 strikes. He drops to 3–5 in 2026 with a 4.69 ERA. Leiter faced one over the minimum through three frames before Ramírez’s leadoff homer in the fourth ended his string of zeroes. He yielded the solo shot to Rocchio in the fifth, marking his first time allowing multiple dingers in a start since he surrendered three against the New York Yankees on April 27.

Four straight Guardians reached with two outs in the fifth, plating an additional three tallies. The four-run fifth is tied for the most damage against Leiter in any inning this year. The fifth stanza has been his most detrimental in 2026. Fifteen of his 38 runs allowed have come in the fifth. He recorded a season-low two strikeouts, both in the first inning, the fewest since May 2, 2025 against the Seattle Mariners. Leiter notched a career-high 10 strikeouts in each of his two starts against the Guardians in 2025.

Streak Snapped for Bibee

Guardians starter Tanner Bibee made his team-leading 14th start of the season, and his sixth on the road. He picked up his first win of the season. He is now 1-7 with an ERA of 4.09, snapping a career-high seven-game losing streak. His final line was 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO, 87 pitches/54 strikes. Bibee faced the minimum through three innings, needing 27 pitches to cover those frames. Saturday was his longest scoreless outing this season, and second-longest of his career.

Schumaker’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker discussed Leiter’s outing. “The cutter was really effective early on, and then it felt like they started to ambush it almost the second and third time around,” he said. “The changeup wasn’t real effective. I think the fastball/cutter again was going so well that we just kind of kept leaning on it, and they started ambushing it pretty early on in the counts. It happened pretty quick for him in that fifth inning.”