Cardinals 6, Guardians 5 (10 innings) — April 14, 2026 | Busch Stadium, St. Louis
The Guardians let one slip away Monday night in St. Louis, falling 6-5 in extra innings after holding multiple leads. Cleveland did enough offensively to win, but missed chances late and a walk-off in the 10th flipped this one the wrong way.
🔥 Key Performers
José Ramírez
Continued to carry the offense with a multi-hit night, including a key RBI knock that helped Cleveland grab momentum early. He was the most consistent bat in the lineup.
Steven Kwan
Set the table all night with quality at-bats and reached base multiple times. Kwan’s approach kept innings alive, but Cleveland couldn’t always cash in.
Josh Naylor
Delivered a big RBI hit in the middle innings and continued to be a threat in run-producing spots, though the Guardians left him stranded in a few key moments late.
Gavin Williams
Final line: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. He gave Cleveland a solid start and exited with the team in position to win, but the bullpen couldn’t close it out.
📝 Game Summary
Cleveland jumped out early with pressure in the first few innings, taking advantage of traffic on the bases and forcing the Cardinals to play from behind. The Guardians held a 3-1 lead through the middle innings, with Williams settling in after a slightly shaky start.
St. Louis chipped away, tying the game late against the bullpen before Cleveland briefly regained the lead in the eighth. It felt like the Guardians had done just enough — until the Cardinals answered again in the bottom half to even things up.
The turning point came in extras. After Cleveland failed to push across the automatic runner in the 10th, the Cardinals capitalized. A couple of productive at-bats and a walk-off hit ended it, handing the Guardians a frustrating loss in a game they controlled for stretches.
Bottom line: Cleveland had chances. They just didn’t finish.
📊 Notable Stats
- Guardians went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
- Cleveland left 10+ runners on base, including key chances in the late innings.
- The bullpen allowed the game-tying and walk-off runs after Williams exited.
- Cardinals executed in extras, scoring the automatic runner to win it in the 10th.