Bazzana's Three-Run Blast Buries Baltimore Early, Cleveland Wins 9-5

Travis Bazzana's second-inning home run to right center — 378 feet, three runs, game over in spirit — swung Baltimore's win probability from 34% to 13% in a single swing. Cleveland never looked back, rolling to a 9-5 final on September 8.

Cleveland wasted no time making this uncomfortable for Baltimore. Kwan scored in the first on an Adell single to put the Guardians up 1-0, and the second inning turned into a full-on dismantling. Patrick Bailey singled to right to score Martínez, and then Bazzana unloaded — a 378-foot shot to right center that scored Halpin and Kwan and pushed the lead to 5-0. That one swing is where this game was decided. Baltimore's win probability cratered from 34% to 13%, and the Orioles spent the rest of the night trying to dig out of a hole they never fully escaped. Petey Halpin added another run in the third with a single to right that scored Lowe, stretching it to 6-0.

Baltimore did make things interesting — briefly. The Orioles chipped away through the fourth and fifth innings, getting a run on a Basallo groundout, then stringing together a Taveras double, a Holliday single, and a Pete Alonso 420-foot home run to left that scored Holliday and suddenly made it 6-5. Alonso went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and a run scored, and Jackson Holliday was active all night at 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored. For a stretch in the fifth, this looked like a different game. The Orioles had life, the crowd had reason to believe, and Cleveland's early cushion had shrunk to one run.

Then the seventh happened, and it wasn't pretty for Baltimore. A throwing error by first baseman Alonso on a fielder's choice allowed Ramírez to score and Adell to reach third — Cleveland back up two. Brayan Rocchio then singled to center, scoring both Adell and Martínez to make it 9-5 and effectively end any remaining drama. Rocchio finished 2-for-4 with 2 RBI, and the story of the night was Cleveland's ability to manufacture runs in bunches when Baltimore's defense cracked. The Guardians' pitching staff — with Herrin, Yoho, and Cade Smith each posting zeroes across their outings — kept Baltimore's lineup from finding any sustained rhythm after that fifth-inning surge. Cleveland's offense did the early damage, their arms held the line, and a late Baltimore error sealed it. Final: Cleveland 9, Baltimore 5.