Rocchio’s slam, walkoff homer propel Guardians

With the Guardians needing a big hit, Rocchio stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and this game tied in the ninth inning. A lot of the pressure melted away after Yoendrys Gómez threw a wild pitch that let Travis Bazzana scamper home with the go-ahead run. Just a moment later, Rocchio scorched a double in the gap to bring home two more and give Cleveland all the insurance they’d need to finish this game off. Despite a few other big hits over the last few weeks, Rocchio has ceded some starts at shortstop to Angel Genao over the last few weeks as his production has tailed off during the second half.

Rocchio’s home run was his 13th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Jackson Jobe to tie the game in the fifth inning. It was another devastating home run for the Tigers off the bat of Rocchio, who hit a grand slam and a walk-off home run in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader. He’s hitting .246 with a .684 OPS and 60 RBI this year.

It seemed last weekend that Brayan Rocchio might be becoming the odd man out in the Cleveland infield, but he’s starting a fifth straight game tonight after sitting out two in a row. That’s led to less time for Genao. His only start the last three games came when José Ramírez was DHing on Wednesday.

Prior to Friday, Rocchio had received just one day off since the break and had started 122 of 128 games this season. Tonight, though, he again finds himself on the bench in favor of Angel Genao at shortstop. Rocchio has hit .183/.230/.270 during the second half, lowering his overall OPS from .750 to .685.

Genao takes a seat with Travis Bazzana at the keystone and Brayan Rocchio at shortstop. The 22-year-old top prospect has made some serious waves, hitting .368 (7-for-19) with one homer and two RBI in five games since being promoted from Triple-A Columbus last week. He boasts impressive contact skills and has shown some impressive over-the-fence pop over the last few months. He’s seeing the ball extremely well at the moment and should be rostered in all fantasy formats, even if he’s going to cede the occasional start to Bazzana at second base when Rocchio is in the lineup.

Rocchio and Rhys Hoskins went back-to-back in the fourth inning as the only runs Twins’ starter Connor Prielipp would allow in this one. Rocchio’s was especially impressive soaring into the upper deck at Target Field. As a switch-hitter, he has much more power from the right side and it was great to see a changeup in a bad spot from Prielipp. Rocchio’s been a breakout player so far this season with seven home runs, 15 stolen bases, and a .272 batting average with 301 at-bats under his belt.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine day off for the Guardians’ shortstop. Daniel Schneemann will start in his place and will bat seventh against White Sox’ southpaw Chris Murphy on Sunday in Cleveland.

The Guardians held an early 2-0 lead in the contest, but trailed 5-2 heading to the home half of the sixth. They scratched out a run there and David Fry swatted a solo homer in the seventh to make it a 5-4 ballgame. It remained that way until the ninth where Rhys Hoskins worked a leadoff walk and Rocchio ambushed a first-pitch fastball from Taylor for his 380-foot (98.4-mph EV) game-winning blast. Rocchio also plated a run with a bases-loaded walk in the third, finishing the night 1-for-4 with three RBI. On the season, he’s now hitting .269/.342/.392 with six homers and 37 RBI.

Rocchio drove in Patrick Bailey with his run-scoring triple off of Jack Flaherty in the second inning, extending the Guardians’ early lead to 2-0. That would be his only hit in three at-bats on the evening. For the season, the 25-year-old shortstop is slashing a solid .277/.357/.405 with five homers, 32 RBI and 11 stolen bases.

Rocchio took Jack Leiter deep for a solo home run in the fifth inning, then later knocked a base hit in the sixth. The two-hit game snaps a small, three-game hitless streak. Meanwhile, the home run is his first since May 17 and his fifth of the season. The 25-year-old infielder has enjoyed a strong season so far, hitting .283/.361/.410 with 28 runs scored, 29 RBI, and 11 steals across 235 plate appearances.