Cleveland Guardians vs. Cincinnati Reds – July 27, 2026

This game has been postponed. There will be a doubleheader on Tuesday with the first game being at 1:40pm ET. The regularly scheduled game for Tuesday will remain as a 7:10pm ET contest. For more information on the ticketing you can go to Reds.com/rainout

The Cincinnati Reds (49-55) return home to Great American Ball Park for the first time since July 12 to face the Cleveland Guardians (54-53) to determine who takes home the Ohio Cup for 2026. The Reds currently hold that title, but are down 1-2 to Cleveland in the series this season. The Reds will need to win or sweep the series to retain the Cup. (Ties go to the previous year’s winner).

Lineups

Cleveland Guardians

Cincinnati Reds

Steven Kwan – LFElly De La Cruz – SSJosé Ramírez – DHSal Stewart – 1BChase DeLauter – RFJJ Bleday – RFTravis Bazzana – 2BEugenio Suárez – 3BBrayan Rocchio – SSNathaniel Lowe – 1BKyle Manzardo – 1BTyler Stephenson – CGabriel Arias – 3BDane Myers – CFPatrick Bailey – CEdwin Arroyo – 2BPetey Halpin – CFTJ Friedl – LF

Starting Pitchers

Slade Cecconi

Cecconi has not had a good month of July. He’s coming off a start against the Twins where he pitched only 4.2 innings, allowing seven hits and seven runs, though only three of those runs were earned. He’s got a 7.43 ERA across three starts this month, giving up 22 hits, including three home runs, and five walks while only striking out 12 in 13.1 innings.

Cecconi is not a strikeout pitcher and he’s not a pitcher that will get batters to swing and miss at pitches. He pitches to contact. Cecconi has a ground ball percentage in the 68th percentile among all MLB pitchers. His GB% is 45.5% in 2026, up from 41.4% a year ago.

Splits

SplitPAH2B3BHRBB%K%AVGOBPSLGRHH1915011076%17%.284.326.466LHH2646612089%19%.281.345.434

Pitch Usage

4-SeamCutter2-SeamCurveSliderSweeperChangeVelo93.288.293.375.883.481.682.9Usage26.3%25.2%21.2%15.3%5.2%4.5%2.2%

Chase Burns

Chase Burns continued his dominance this season with another outstanding start last week. He pitched five shut-out innings against the Mariners last Tuesday, allowing just three hits while striking out six. He rebounded well after his previous two starts in which he allowed five runs total in 11.0 innings against the Brewers and the Phillies.

Burns has some weird splits. He struggles against lefties, as they are slugging .397 against him. He also has a 12% walk rate against lefties. However, he also strikes out more left-handed hitters. This could be just chalked up to the fact that he has faced a lot more lefties, but the 1o home runs allowed while also having a 30% strikeout rate does stand out.

Splits

SplitPAH2B3BHRBB%K%AVGOBPSLGRHH168318025%26%.194.232.281LHH26549921012%30%.211.303.397

Pitch Usage

4-SeamSliderChangeCurveVelo97.890.490.181.9Usage57.1%37.4%5.4%0.1%

Game Details:

Time: 7:10 PM EDTPlace: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OHTV: ESPNRadio: 700 WLW (Cincinnati area)Forecast: 85 degrees, mostly cloudy, 51% chance of thunderstorms

News and Notes

Steer to the Injured List

Spencer Steer left Sunday’s game early with right wrist pain, and today it landed him on the IL. Ivan Johnson was called up from Triple-A Louisville.

According to Fox19 contributor Charlie Goldsmith, Terry Francona and Steer both said today that it’s an injury they hope will heal on its own, but surgery is not off the table later this season.

Minor League Recap

All of the Reds minor league teams were in action yesterday, including the Arizona Complex team which played in the championship series.