This Has Anchored the Guardians’ Successful Month of May
· Yahoo Sports
Another calendar month of the 2026 MLB season is coming to a close with the Cleveland Guardians wrapping up their last series of May this weekend: a three-game set against the Boston Red Sox.
Heading into Friday’s series opener, the Guardians have a 17-9 record in May, which is the best in the American League.
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The starting pitching remains the strength of this Cleveland team, and the offense continues to take positive steps, which has clearly helped the Guardians over this run.
However, what immediately jumped to the front of manager Stephen Vogt’s mind when reflecting on his team's success in May was just how good the reliever core has been this month.
“I mean, the bullpen’s been outstanding,” said Vogt. “Whoever it's been has just come in and been [effective.]”
The core of the bullpen group continues to change from year to year, and the names might not be of the same star-power as in the past, but that doesn’t change good they’ve been.
Over the last month, Vogt pointed out the performance that has stood out to him, including “watching, Holderman come back and throw the way he has. Timmy Herrin’s been great all year, and obviously Sabrowski and until the injury. Getting Gaddis back to being Hunter Gaddis and Cade’s been lock down, and then you look at Matt, what Matt Festa has done. Peyton Pallette was great. Logan gave us four [innings]. You just keep going down the list. I'm sure I'm leaving somebody out, and I apologize, but the bullpen has been the anchor.”
May 20, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Colin Holderman (35) delivers during the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn ImagesThe stats back up Vogt’s claim about the bullpen, too.
In May, Cleveland’s relievers have combined to log a 2.71 ERA, which ranks sixth in all of baseball over the stretch. The group also has a combined 1.29 WHIP and a strikeout rate of 29.7 percent. They’re limiting damage and base runners, which is certainly a recipe for success.
This hasn’t been in a small sample size, either. The Guardians’ bullpen has been asked to cover a lot of innings with limited off days. For example, early in the week, the Guardians’ starters hit a rough patch and didn’t get out of the third inning. Cleveland’s bullpen still kept the team in the game.
Just like in 2024 and 2025, if Cleveland has a dominant bullpen, the ceiling for this team will only continue to rise. Cleveland’s success in May is proof of that.
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