The Guardians’ home opener is often referred to as “Cleveland’s national holiday” in Northeast Ohio. An advance sellout is guaranteed, along with day-long parking and traffic issues downtown.
A fun twist to the festivities will occur Friday, when the Chicago Cubs provide the opposition. It’s the 10th anniversary season of their lone World Series matchup, won by the Cubs in a classic Game 7 held in Cleveland.
Guardians left-hander Joey Cantillo (0-0, 4.91 ERA) takes on Chicago right-hander Cade Horton (1-0, 2.84 ERA) in the first of their 81 home contests.
Cleveland began the season with a seven-game road trip against the Seattle Mariners and World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. It split four with American League Championship Series qualifier Seattle, then won two of three over the Dodgers.
“It was a really good road trip for us,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “We faced two of the best teams in the league and we’re going home one game over .500.
“We can’t wait to see our fans. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen them.”
Cleveland hasn’t played at home since last Oct. 2, when it lost the decisive Game 3 to the Detroit Tigers in their AL wild-card series. Outfielder Chase DeLauter became the sixth player to make his big-league debut in the postseason, batting .167 in two games.
DeLauter is off to a great start in his official rookie campaign, joining Trevor Story (2016) as the only players with four home runs in their first three career regular-season games.
The 6-foot-3 lefty fouled a pitch off his surgically repaired left foot Tuesday in Los Angeles, but X-rays were negative and he plans on being in the lineup for the home opener.
“That being negative was a huge win and we’ll go from there,” DeLauter said. “I think now we’re just dealing with a nice bone bruise in that area.”
Cantillo took a no-decision in a 3 2/3-inning start at Seattle on March 28. His only outing against the Cubs occurred last year, when he yielded one run in 3 1/3 innings.
Chicago is on the road for the initial time after going 3-3 against the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels. Five of those games were decided by at least three runs and four of them saw Cubs pitching allow exactly two runs.
The lack of late-inning drama has created a scarcity of work for closer Daniel Palencia, who has yet to pitch in a save situation. The righty has made two scoreless appearances, while Colin Rea notched Chicago’s one save with three innings in a blowout win.
“For the manager it’s just our personnel and trying to get comfortable with our personnel,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said. “That’s what we need to navigate in the first few weeks.”
The Cubs’ homestand wrapped up Wednesday with a 6-2 win over the Angels, highlighted by Nico Hoerner banging out three hits with two doubles to raise his average to .318. The second baseman signed a six-year, $141 million extension last month.
“Nico had a really, really good game,” Counsell said. “The double he hit and the ball flight, the (windy) conditions here favor Nico, and the way he swings the bat and plays offense.”
Horton has done nothing but impress since making his major league debut on May 10, 2025 with the Cubs, going 12-4 with a 2.68 ERA over 23 starts and one relief outing. He tossed seven scoreless innings against the Guardians last July 3 in Chicago.
A 2022 first-round draft pick, Horton gave up two runs in 6 1/3 innings in beating Washington on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
