CLEVELAND – Cleveland Guardians infielder Brayan Rocchio had four home runs in 343 regular season at-bats, but then something clicked for him in his final at-bat of the regular season on Sept. 28 against the Texas Rangers when he hit a game-winning home run in extra innings at Progressive field.
Fast forward to a tied ballgame three days later on Oct. 1. It was game two of the Wild Card Series against the Detroit Tigers, the score was 1-1 in the eighth, and Rocchio did it again, pulling the ball to right field against Bo Melton for a no-doubt home run, racing out of the ballpark at 96.9 mph and landing 379 feet from the plate, giving Cleveland a 2-1 lead and making the city go ballistic as the Guardians, once again, outlasted the Tigers, getting a 6-1 win and forcing a deciding game three on Thursday.
“I’d been lucky to face him a couple times in Triple-A. In these situations, you have to tone it down a little bit and keep it simple,” Roccio said of facing Melton. “We always say we try to always play without pressure. That’s our type of ball. We just play and we realize we’re going to play until the last out. Even if we’re down by ten, we’ll know we’ll continue to try to play that type of ball.”
Leaving 15 runners in scoring position was another major reason the Tigers lost — that is a record in a game where a team scored two runs or less.
“I feel like it’s super cliché. But honestly, you go one pitch at a time. When Tim goes in the game, he’s expecting to face Greene and Jones comes up, at that point it’s just get in the next strike, get in the next out. Once you get Jones out, he’s probably thinking okay, let’s just get strike one to Perez. It keeps going and going,” said Guardians starter Tanner Bibee, who pitched 4 2/3 innings with one run allowed and six strikeouts. “If you’ve got to think two, three batters ahead, you’re going to forget what you’re doing in the moment. That’s the thing our bullpen does so good. That’s the thing everyone in our organization does so good.”
Rocchio, 24 was viewed as a very strong prospect and he was ranked third in the Guardians system by MLB Pipeline and 91st overall in 2024. He signed as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2017 for $125,000.
He left spring training with the Guardians and made their 2025 opening day roster after playing 143 games with them in 2024, butRocchio’s low point of the season came on May 12, 2025 when was sent down to the Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers. It took nearly two months for him to be recalled to the Guardians on July 1.
His regular season numbers were underwhelming. He hit just five home runs, 44 RBIs, stole eight bases, and had a slash line of .233/.290/.340 in 344 at-bats. The fact he was able to shake that off and hit the biggest home run of the season against Tigers reliever Bo Melton speaks volumes about his resiliency.
Guardians catcher Bo Naylor, who put hte game on ice with a three-run homer in the ninth that made it 6-1, also did not have a good season overall, but has an OPS of .872 and three home runs since Sept. 1.
“It was huge, an 0-2 count and Rocchio was ready to fire. The last couple innings was not easy to see. Our guys jumped on Melton pretty well and Bo with such an unbelievable bat off Hurter. For us, it was a frustrating day offensively for us. Two hits leading into the 8th. For our guys to explode and get separation felt good,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said postgame on two eighth inning home runs.
Naylor was asked by the media how he was able to keep up belief in himself despite a difficult season.
“Leaning on my teammates. I think that goes back to the vibes we keep in the clubhouse. And in the dugout, just staying positive, knowing that we’re always in it and never quitting. Like that reflects how my season’s been to this point too, just understanding that there’s a lot of games to be played,” Naylor said postgame. “There’s a lot of opportunities and you have to make the most of them. Never quit, just because they’re not going your way. That mentality through the whole season and also in the game today, it’s kind of what has helped.”
Outfielder George Valera is a Queens, N.Y. native and his solo shot opened up the scoring for the game in the first.
The Tigers answered back in the fourth with a Javier Baez single that would have scored two runs if not for a great throw by the highly-touted Guardians center fielder Chase DeLauter, a prospect who made his MLB debut today. DeLauter dropped a ball in the first but Bibee told him to shake it and he did, throwing Zach McKinstry at third to end the inning before Dillon Dingler was able to score.
Now it’s all on the line, and Cleveland will be ready to try to will its team past the Tigers one final time.
Photo: Brayan Rocchio reacts as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning of Game 2 of the American League Wild Card baseball playoff series against the Detroit Tigers in Cleveland, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. Umpire Vic Carapazza looks on at right. (AP Photo/David Dermer)
