Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Go-ahead homer as Guardians survive
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Rocchio smashed a go-ahead, solo home run in the eighth inning of Wednesday's 6-1 victory over the Tigers in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series.
Rocchio was in a 0-2 hole against Troy Melton with one out and no one on, but he got a center-cut fastball and didn't miss it, putting the pitch over the right-field wall to send the crowd at Progressive Field into a frenzy. The Guardians tacked on an additional four runs in the frame and forced a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday. It was the second career postseason homer for Rocchio, who slashed .306/.390/.444 during the 2024 playoffs.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Slugs walk-off homer
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Rocchio went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer and an additional RBI in Sunday's 9-8 extra-inning victory over Texas.
The Cleveland infielder played hero in this contest with a 380-foot, three-run blast to walk off the Rangers and clinch the division for his club. Rocchio concludes a relatively productive second half that saw him hit .257 (56-for-218) with four homers, six steals, 32 RBI and 23 runs scored across 66 games after the All-Star break. Overall, the 24-year-old slashed .233/.290/.340 with five homers, eight steals, 44 RBI and 34 runs scored across 383 total plate appearances this regular season.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Fills in at shortstop
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Rocchio started at shortstop and went 2-for-3 with a walk in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Royals.
Rocchio made a second consecutive start at shortstop with Gabriel Arias nursing a wrist injury. Arias will play through the injury while the Guardians compete for a playoff spot, but it's unclear what level of activity he can tolerate. Rocchio, who has been the primary second baseman, may see more action at shortstop going forward. His season numbers are negatively skewed by an unproductive first two months (.530 OPS), which prompted a demotion to the minors. Since returning to the majors July 1, Rocchio's been much better, slashing .276/.330/.412 over 63 games.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Laces three hits in win
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Rocchio went 3-for-4 with a walk, one RBI and two runs scored in Monday's 10-2 rout of the Royals.
The 24-year-old notched his second three-hit performance of the season, with the first coming July 8 at Houston. Rocchio, who entered the season with a .213 career batting average, has been much improved at the plate since the All-Star break, hitting .272 (43-for-158) with three homers, four steals, 28 RBI and 16 runs scored across 48 contests. Overall, the Venezuelan is now slashing .236/.294/.342 with 40 RBI and 27 runs scored in 317 total plate appearances.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Plates three Tuesday
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Rocchio went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's loss to the Red Sox.
Rocchio capped off a six-run sixth inning for the Guardians with a three-run blast off Garrett Crochet to put Cleveland ahead. Rocchio's now plated five runs over his last two games and has 11 RBI and three homers over his last 16. Rocchio's blast put him at 39 RBI for the season, surpassing his 2024 total in 53 fewer games.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Moves to shortstop
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Rocchio started at shortstop and went 0-for-2 with a walk in Saturday's 4-3 win over Seattle.
Rocchio has been the everyday second baseman for the last month but was needed at shortstop with Gabriel Arias (wrist) day-to-day. As part of the domino effect, Daniel Schneemann covered second base.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Moved up order Wednesday
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Rocchio batted second and went 0-for-5 in Wednesday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the Rays.
That's the highest spot in the order for Rocchio when he's been in a starting lineup. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt modified the order, which was without a resting Jose Ramirez, and also recognized the good work Rocchio has put in since his return to the majors July 1 -- he's slashed .269/.308/.406 with 25 RBI over 50 games since his recall. The Guardians rank last in the league with a .197 average out of the second spot in the batting order.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Launches third homer
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Rocchio went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Monday's 3-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
Rocchio is up to three homers on the year, with two of them coming over his last three games. The infielder has put together a strong August, going 17-for-54 (.315) across 16 games this month while occupying a starting role, primarily at second base. He's up to a .237/.289/.348 slash line with 31 RBI, 20 runs scored and six stolen bases through 77 contests this season, though he is trending upward.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Homers in loss
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Rocchio went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's 10-1 loss to Atlanta.
Rocchio swatted his second home run of the season in the third inning, when the game was still close. He's hit safely in seven of the last eight contests, going 8-for-27 (.296) with a double, a homer, two steals and four RBI during that stretch. Following a shaky start to the season that resulted in him being sent back down to the minors, Rocchio has hit well since his return. He's produced a .760 OPS over 40 contests since early July and settled in as team's primary second baseman.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Contributes to win
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Rocchio started at second base and went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Saturday's 3-1 win over the White Sox.
Rocchio made contributions with his bat and glove. His run-scoring double in the fourth inning produced the game-winning run. The 24-year-old -- who didn't make his first big-league start at second base until July 26 -- made a diving stop to start an inning-ending double play in the eighth to preserve the Guardians' win. Rocchio's managed to learn a new position while maintaining a strong bat, going 15-for-45 (.333) with five extra-base hits and seven RBI over 13 games since becoming the primary starter at the keystone.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Starts both ends of doubleheader
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Rocchio started at second base in both ends of Saturday's doubleheader against the Royals. He went a combined 2-for-7 with one walk, two doubles and a run scored.
Rocchio remained on the roster following the activation of Gabriel Arias off the IL on Friday, and he was in the starting lineup at second base, with Arias at shortstop, prior to that game being postponed. Both players started at the same positions for both games Saturday. Rocchio has hit .258 since his return to the majors July 1, when he was called up to replace Arias. It looks like the two will occupy the Guardians' middle infield for now, which allows manager Stephen Vogt to move the versatile Daniel Schneemann, who started at two different spots, third base and right field, in Saturday's twin bill, around the diamond as needed.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Swats homer in win
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Rocchio went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 10-6 extra-inning win over the Astros.
Rocchio connected for his first homer of the season in the fourth inning, which gave the Guardians a 6-1 lead. The shortstop didn't do much initially after being recalled July 1, but he's gone 4-for-6 with two doubles, a home run and three RBI in two games to start the series against Houston. Rocchio will continue to get the majority of the starts at shortstop while Gabriel Arias (ankle) recovers on the 10-day injured list.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Back in big leagues
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The Guardians recalled Rocchio from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday.
Rocchio collected an .837 OPS with seven home runs across 41 games with Columbus after being sent down in mid-May. That's after he slashed an ugly .165/.235/.198 slash line in his first 35 contests with the big club. Rocchio could be given another chance at regular playing time at shortstop while Gabriel Arias (ankle) is out, but Daniel Schneemann is also an option at the position.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: On standby if needed
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Rocchio could return to the majors if Gabriel Arias' ankle injury forces him to miss extended time, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Arias suffered an ankle injury and was removed from Sunday's game against the Cardinals. The injury occurred early enough in the Guardians' game to impact the lineup for Triple-A Columbus, which did not have Rocchio in its starting nine. After he was demoted to the minors with a .165 average and .433 OPS through 35 games with Cleveland, Rocchio is batting .252 with an .837 OPS, seven home runs, 30 RBI, seven steals and 28 runs across 41 games with the Clippers.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Back on bench as struggles continue
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Rocchio is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.
After he was held out of the lineup Tuesday and Wednesday, Rocchio drew starts at shortstop in each of the ensuing three contests, but he went 0-for-8 with four strikeouts in those games to bring his average down to .185 on the season. Now back on the bench Sunday, Rocchio looks like he may have to settle for a part-time role in the middle infield, as the Guardians have been prioritizing Gabriel Arias and Daniel Schneemann ahead of him.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Not in lineup Tuesday
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Rocchio is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Twins.
Gabriel Arias will shift over to shortstop, and Daniel Schneemann is manning second base and batting seventh against Chris Paddack. Rocchio is 1-for-17 at the plate over the last seven days.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Not starting Game 1
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Rocchio isn't in the lineup for the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Red Sox, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
After going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in his last game, Rocchio will get a chance to regroup during the first half of Saturday's activities. Gabriel Arias will shift to shortstop as a result, opening up second base for Daniel Schneemann.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Out of Friday's lineup
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Rocchio is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Red Sox.
The absence ends a stretch of five consecutive starts for Rocchio, who went 3-for-15 with a stolen base, three runs and one RBI during that stretch. Gabriel Arias will move to shortstop while Daniel Schneemann receives a start at the keystone.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Absent from Friday's lineup
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Rocchio is not in the lineup for Friday's contest in Pittsburgh.
Rocchio isn't dealing with any known injury, but he's now been out of the lineup for two of the last three games. Gabriel Arias will get the call at shortstop for the Guardians while Angel Martinez handles second base.
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Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: On base three times
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Rocchio went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and a run scored in Thursday's 6-1 win over the White Sox.
Rocchio returned to the lineup after a routine day off Wednesday and delivered his second multi-hit game of the season. He hasn't done much offensively, batting just .231 with two extra-base hits, two runs scored and three RBI (all in one game) across 36 plate appearances.
