CLEVELAND, Ohio — Right-hander Pedro Avila has done the dirty work all season long for the Guardians, and everybody — including manager Stephen Vogt — has taken notice.

Since joining the club April 17 from the Padres in exchange for cash considerations, Avila has played an instrumental role in sustaining Cleveland’s bullpen success. Saturday’s 7-0 loss to San Diego was no different. Avila worked 1 1/3 innings, allowing a hit and striking out two.

But more importantly, Avila covered innings to preserve his fellow relievers in a game that eventually got out of hand with Dylan Cease limiting Cleveland to just one hit.

Manager Stephen Vogt said Avila has been tremendous for the team when pitching in length.

“When our starter hasn’t gone long, he’s been able to bridge us to the back end,” Vogt said. “He’s been able to piggyback a couple of times. Whatever we ask him to do he’s doing it, and he’s just coming in and attacking.”

Vogt said when Avila first arrived in Cleveland his strike throwing was not as consistent, but the 27-year-old made some adjustments with pitching coach Carl Willis and bullpen coach Brad Goldberg as well as the rest of the pitching group.

“Just the consistency at which he’s throwing right now, I couldn’t be more happy for Pedro,” Vogt said. “He’s been a huge, huge part of our bullpen.”

Vogt compared Avila to Jesse Chavez, a former teammate in Oakland and Atlanta who was both a starter and reliever, who pitched in leverage situations and in length, and tool the ball no matter what the score of the game was.

“It doesn’t matter the game situation, it doesn’t matter who’s coming up,” Vogt said. “You take the ball and you make your pitches. You’re going to earn more leverage, you’re going to earn more opportunities in different roles. And that’s what Pedro’s done.”

Vogt said it is a common theme among the pitchers in Cleveland’s bullpen this season. He said the guys in the ‘pen are true professionals that are willing to do whatever it takes to help the team.

“Sometimes helping the team is pitching three innings in a game where we’re getting beat,” Vogt said. “We have eight guys out there that are willing to do that. I mean, our closer (Emmanuel Clase) is willing to throw in games we’re down eight and he wants to pitch. I think when that guy’s setting that standard, everybody else falls in line.”

Boyd report

Lefty Matthew Boyd had a strong first rehab start for Double-A Akron on Sunday, tossing four innings and allowing one run on four hits while striking out five. Boyd, coming off reconstructive elbow surgery last June, signed with Cleveland late last month with a goal of pitching in the big leagues by August.

He told reporters Sunday his arm felt good after throwing 52 pitches, including 41 for strikes and topping out at 94 mph with his fastball. When asked if he had a timetable for returning to the major league mound, he deferred.

“I’m lucky I don’t have to make those decisions,” Boyd said. “I’m putting a lot of trust in the training staff and the process of building up pitch count and whatnot and those things. It’s a process and they’re the ones handling it. But all in all, I feel very good about my stuff and the way it’s coming out and the way we’re attacking hitters.”

COLUMBUS, Ohio — For quite a long time this offseason, it seemed as if Ohio State was the team to beat for Vernell Brown III.

Brown, a five-star receiver from Florida who is rated the No. 25 overall prospect and No. 6 wideout in the 2025 class, was once in the driver’s seat of his recruitment. But things pivoted over the last few weeks and months, and the allure of staying Florida was too much to pass up.

The talented wideout committed to Florida on Sunday, the same school that his father played at from 2001-2005. He chose the Gators over offers from Ohio State, Miami and Florida State.

Ohio State’s 2025 class remains at 24 commitments, with three pledges at the wide receiver spot. Four-stars Quincy Porter and De’zie Jones, as well as three-star Bodpegn Miller, make up Brian Hartline’s crop for the 2025 cycle.

The Buckeyes are still looking for a fourth in the class, and the likeliest candidate appears to be four-star Phillip Bell out of Mission Viejo, California.

With new Oregon commit and five-star Dakorien Moore shutting down his recruitment, the Buckeyes will likely not have a five-star receiver in the 2025 class.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland Guardians will cap a three-game series against the San Diego Padres today – Sunday, July 21 – at Progressive Field. The matchup is available on multiple streaming services for free.

The game will broadcast live on Bally Sports Great Lakes with a first pitch slated for 1:40 p.m. Eastern. You can catch this game for free by utilizing streaming alternatives like FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, which both offer free trials.

The game is also available on ESPN Plus. You can get a subscription to ESPN Plus for $10.99 per month. Another option is to sign up for an annual subscription for $109.99, which saves about 17% off compared to the monthly route.

View the entire Guardians TV schedule for the remainder of the season

Here’s more information on how to watch today’s Guardians-Giants game.

• What: Cleveland Guardians vs. San Diego Padres
• When: Sunday, July 21, 2024
• Time: 1:40 p.m. Eastern
• Where: Progressive Field | Cleveland, OH
• Channels: Bally Sports Great Lakes
• Best streaming options: FuboTV (7-day free trial), DirecTV Stream (5-day free trial) and ESPN Plus
• Cable Channel Finder: AT&T U-Verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DirecTv, Dish, Verizon Fios

The Guardians (59-38) are coming off a 7-0 loss against the Padres on Saturday. After exploding in the post All-Star opener on Friday, the offense vanished as they continue to float around 20 games over .500.

Cleveland holds a five-game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central and have the second-best record in the Amercian League and the third-best record in Major League Baseball.

The Guardians fell to 31-12 at home. They have won each of their last eight games following a home loss.

For the first time in weeks, Cleveland will enter a game not perched atop the American League. As it stands, they trail the Baltimore Orioles by half a game. There have been concerns that they are running out of gas. The signs are there – ripping through a dominant bullpen, seeming to come up empty in timely hitting spots and an offense vanishing in thin air, at times.

On Saturday, Padres (51-50) pitcher Dylan Cease struck out 10 and San Diego combined for a one-hitter in a dominant interleague display. The Guardians have scored seven runs in their last three games.

The Guardians have lost 11 straight when scoring three or fewer runs. The Padres have lost six straight games when scoring three or fewer runs.

Cleveland will get another shot to right their wobbly ship today.

The Guardians pitching staff boasts a 3.71 overall ERA, which is seventh in the league. The offense, which is struggling recently, is near the top ten in OBP (3.16), OPS (.721) and home runs (109).

Guardians players to watch

All-Star Jose Ramirez comes in with 23 home runs, 79 RBI and 102 hits. He has crossed the plate 71 times and stolen 18 bases. Ramirez is slugging. 513.

All-Star Josh Naylor touts 22 home runs and 70 RBI while crossing the plate 55 times. He has a .804 OPS.

All-Star Steven Kwan is batting .351 with nine home runs, 27 RBI and six steals.

Watch Guardians-Padres for free on DirecTV Stream

Padres players to watch

All-Star Jurickson Profar leads San Diego with 14 home runs, 59 RBI and 103 hits. He touts a .298 batting average.

Jake Cronenworth has tallied 14 home runs, 58 RBI while crossing the plate 50 times. He is slugging .438. on the campaign.

All-Star Luis Arraez has 25 RBI and crossed the plate 50 times. His strikeout rate is just 5.6%.

Watch Guardians-Padres for free on FuboTV

Starting pitchers

Cleveland

Ben Lively will toe the rubber for the Guardians. He is 8-5 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Lively has tallied 78 strikeouts this season. He has allowed 16 hits and 11 runs in his previous 16.2 innings of work. But he has lasted five or more innings in five straight starts.

San Diego

Michael King will take the mound for Padres. He is 7-6 with a 3.41 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. King has amassed 129 strikeouts. He has a 2.74 ERA and .228 allowed batting average in road games. King has lasted five or more innings in four straight appearances.

Here’s part of a breakdown on the looming trade deadline from Guardians beat writer Paul Hoynes.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — From the outside looking in, MLB’s trade deadline may be one of the most exciting times of the season.

From inside looking out, not so much.

“I think the trade deadline stinks,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “It does. You’re either losing people you love or you’re gaining somebody that you don’t know. And it can be scary for people … it’s very real.

“In theory it sounds good where it’s like, ‘Oh, let’s go get this, let’s go get that.’ But there are a couple people that have to go away when that happens.”

The July 30 trade deadline is 10 days away. The Guardians own the best record in the American League at 59-37, but they need help, especially in the starting rotation. If they can’t add a starter, perhaps they’ll seek help for the offense or the bullpen.

Vogt said the best approach in talking to his players as the deadline approaches is be direct and honest.

“I think it’s having that open dialogue of it’s OK to not be OK with this,” said Vogt. ” It’s OK if this doesn’t feel good for a few days. And we’ve had some moves like that on our team this year that were unpopular. It hurts. It hurts us.”

Vogt said he has confidence in Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff, Matt Forman and the rest of the front office that they will take the team chemistry that has been created into account with any deal that is made.

“They’re very thoughtful and very smart with what they want to do,” said Vogt.