Gelof's three-run blast stakes early lead before Athletics fall in Cleveland

CLEVELAND - Zack Gelof gave the Athletics a three-run lead before the first inning was half finished. The rest of the night belonged to Cleveland.

Gelof's three-run homer to center - his 19th of the season, 393 feet, scoring Bolte and Butler ahead of him - staked Oakland to a 3-0 lead Friday against the Guardians, per ESPN's box and scoring summary. Cleveland answered, José Ramírez reached 1,000 career RBIs with a home run, and the Guardians won 5-3, the Associated Press reported.

The Athletics fell to 0-4 on their final road trip of 2026.

Gelof finished with the early swing that defined the Athletics' half of the story: one ball over the wall, three runs on the board, and then a quiet bat while Cleveland climbed back. Daniel Espino lasted only the first inning - one hit, three runs, three walks, and Gelof's homer - before Joey Cantillo (10-9) threw six scoreless for the win, per ESPN's box.

Lead evaporates in Progressive Field

Cleveland squandered early chances, loading the bases in the first two innings without scoring, then pushed across runs later. Travis Bazzana snapped a 3-3 tie with a home run in the fifth, the AP wrote.

Ramírez homered in the sixth for a two-run cushion - his 12th homer and the 1,000th RBI of his career, making him the second Cleveland player to reach that mark after Earl Averill (1,084).

The Athletics (61-93) could not add on after Gelof's blast. A first-inning three-run lead became a 5-3 defeat. ESPN's scoring lists Gelof's homer as the Athletics' only multi-run swing of the night. For a club finishing a road trip at 0-4, the pattern was familiar: early contact, late silence.

What the swing still meant

September box scores for last-place clubs rarely rewrite standings boards. Gelof's 19th homer still mattered inside the game - it forced Cleveland to come from behind rather than cruise. Ramírez's milestone and Bazzana's go-ahead shot became the Guardians' headlines. Gelof's ball to center was the Athletics' answer before the middle innings turned.

Saturday's pitching lists Jacob Lopez (6-4, 5.02 ERA) for Oakland against Tanner Bibee (6-15, 4.16) for Cleveland, per the AP notes. Gelof will be back in left for an Athletics lineup that has spent September playing out the schedule. One swing will not change a 61-93 record. On Friday it was the cleanest Athletics moment in a 5-3 loss.

Road trip ends the hard way

Final-road-trip losses stack quickly. An 0-4 mark after Gelof's early homer is a short summary of a longer night: Espino's wild first, Cleveland's patience, Ramírez's history, and an Athletics offense that never got the second punch. Progressive Field saw the Guardians move into first place in their race while Oakland packed for the next stop.

Gelof's three-run shot will show up in the home-run log and the first-inning scoring play. The final line still reads Guardians 5, Athletics 3. For one at-bat in the first, the Athletics had the lead they could not keep.

Sources

ESPN

ESPN

ESPN