Report: Guardians pick up Jo Adell from Angels

The Guardians’ bats showed impressive restraint in a game that the Royals completely gave away. Starter Noah Cameron walked four batters in five innings. Then, their bullpen walked an unbelievable nine batters between the eighth and ninth. Nate Pearson was the primary culprit with four free passes in the final frame. Then, Nolan Hoffman walked two more before Martínez socked a two-run double to finish off a five-run ninth inning. Red-hot heading into the postseason, he has a .301/.345/.573 slash line with six home runs over his last 30 games.

Martínez’ home run was his 18th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Ranger Suarez in the second inning, which accounted for all of the run scoring in the Guardians’ 1-0 victory. Martínez has hit .258 with 49 runs scored, 58 RBI and 11 steals despite sporadic playing time this year.

Martínez returned to the lineup for the first time since Monday and enjoyed an incredible day at the plate, starting with a two-run homer off Jacob Lopez in the first inning. He then doubled and scored in the third before taking Chris Roycroft deep for a solo blast in the fourth for his second home run of the game. Martínez collected a fourth hit and fourth RBI with a single in the sixth. The 24-year-old outfielder is hitting .255/.292/.467 with 17 homers, 47 runs scored, 57 RBI, and 11 steals across 390 plate appearances.

Martínez is back patrolling left field and hitting fifth after missing a pair of games earlier this week with right side inflammation. The 24-year-old corner outfielder enters the final stretch of the year hitting .248/.285/.443 with 15 homers, 53 RBI and 11 steals in just 385 plate appearances.

Adell drove in two with a third-inning single off Anthony Kay that put Cleveland up 2-0. He’s been an integral part of the Guardians’ lineup since being acquired from the Angels at this summer’s trade deadline, hitting second, third or fourth in every game since August 21. His 92 RBI are tied for the 11th-highest total among all hitters.

Adell’s home run was his 22nd of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Chris Murphy in the first inning. Adell has two home runs in his last three games. He’s hitting .239 with a .698 OPS and 90 RBI.

Lewis is back handling first base and hitting fifth after missing just one game with shoulder soreness. The 27-year-old has piled up 14 homers and 14 steals in 462 plate appearances this season, but he doesn’t offer enough batting average upside or counting stats to be relevant outside of extremely deep formats.

The Guardians are optimistic Martínez avoided a significant injury, but he’s not ready to play tonight. He had started nine of the team’s last 10 games. In his absence, the Guardians have Petey Halpin in center and Steven Kwan in left tonight.

Martínez was lifted for a defensive replacement in the eighth inning after striking out in the previous frame. It doesn’t appear to be a significant concern, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see him get a couple days off out of an abundance of caution.

Genao has now sat versus each of the last two left-handed starters. The 22-year-old is slashing .236/.300/.327 in 120 plate appearances for the Guardians with just six RBI, two home runs, and one steal. He does not need to be held in redraft fantasy leagues. Travis Bazzana will start at second base, with Angel Martinez in left field and Chase DeLauter at DH.