Back to Sport

Rangers Fall to Guardians 9-4 Behind Fry, Hedges Homers

Texas Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore took the loss as Cleveland Guardians power hitters Fry and Hedges drove in runs with home runs in a 9-4 victory at Progressive Field.

Zane Pennington

July 2, 20262 min read

MLBFinal
Texas Rangers4
Cleveland Guardians9

July 1, 2026

Rangers Pitching Struggles Define Loss

Texas Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore endured a difficult outing Wednesday, allowing five earned runs over five innings while striking out seven batters. Gore, who fell to a 5-7 record on the season, faced significant pressure early in the game. The Texas bullpen attempted to stabilize the game but could not prevent the lead from expanding. Cole Winn contributed two earned runs over one inning, and Winston Santos allowed two more over two frames, finishing with a strikeout and a walk.

Guardians Offense Explodes in Second

Cleveland Guardians capitalized on Texas errors and wild pitches to build a commanding lead early. The scoring began in the second inning when Hedges sacrificed to move Rocchio to scoring position. Arias then scored on a Gore wild pitch, followed by another wild pitch that allowed Arias to score again. The inning turned decisive when Fry launched a 380-foot home run to right center, driving in Hedges and Schneemann for a three-run surge. This left the Guardians ahead 5-0 heading into the third inning.

Guardians Extend Lead in Middle Innings

Cleveland continued to apply pressure in the third inning. A walk loaded the bases for Higashioka, and after a challenged call was upheld, Foscue scored to make it 5-1. The Guardians added more runs in the sixth inning. Diaz grounded out to allow Higashioka to score, followed by Lopez doubling to left to bring Osuna home. The scoring continued in the seventh inning when DeLauter singled to right to score Kwan, and Hoskins walked before DeLauter scored on a wild pitch by Santos. The Guardians led 7-3 at that point.

Late Homers Seal Victory

Texas managed to get on the board in the eighth inning when Diaz hit a 402-foot home run to left center, making the score 7-4. However, the Guardians quickly answered their own offensive push. Hedges hit a 400-foot home run to left center in the same inning, driving in Watson to extend the lead to 9-4. This marked the third home run of the game for Cleveland.

Joey Cantillo earned the win for Cleveland, pitching five innings and allowing two earned runs while striking out four. Colin Holderman, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin, Erik Sabrowski, and Matt Festa closed out the game for the Guardians. The final score of 9-4 improved the Guardians' record to 45-42, while the Rangers fell to 44-43. The game was played at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, with 20,141 fans in attendance.

Sources

https://www.espn.com/mlb/game/_/gameId/401815984

Share

Zane Pennington

Zane Pennington covers Aubrey high school and area college sports.

Related Stories