Ohio Cup on the line again in Cincinnati: Guardians breakfast

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians and Reds are set for the first of four meetings, beginning Tuesday in Cincinnati, with the Ohio Cup trophy back up for grabs between the two clubs.

The rivalry series between Cleveland and Cincinnati dates back to the late 1980s when it was contested as exhibition games sometimes played just prior to the start of the regular season in Columbus. With the start of interleague play in 1997, the focus shifted to regular season games, and in 2008, the current trophy and format was adopted.

Each year the team with the most head-to-head wins gets the cup. In years when the series is tied, the team that held the cup previously retains it.

Cleveland leads the all-time series 73-58 and has held the cup since 2015. The clubs have tied their season series every year since 2021 with Cleveland winning the cup outright for three seasons prior to that. The Reds have not won the cup outright since 2014.

Frank Robinson Award

Each year, media members from Cleveland and Cincinnati vote to select the Frank Robinson Most Outstanding Player award for the series. The award honors Robinson, who played parts of his 21-year Hall of Fame career in both Cincinnati and Cleveland. Last season, Myles Straw won the award. In 2022, former Cleveland outfielder Tyler Naquin took home the honor as a member of the Reds.

José Ramírez of Cleveland is the only two-time winner of the award, taking home the honor in 2018 and 2020.

Past winners of the award include:

2008 Adam Dunn, CIN

2009 Ramon Hernandez, CIN

2010 Shin-Soo Choo, CLE

2011 Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE

2012 No award

2013 No award

2014 Kristopher Negron, CIN

2015 Jason Kipnis, CLE

2016 Rajai Davis, CLE

2017 Carlos Santana, CLE

2018 José Ramírez, CLE

2019 Trevor Bauer, CLE

2020 José Ramírez, CLE

2021 Wade Miley, CIN

2022 Tyler Naquin, CIN

2023 Myles Straw, CLE

Trivia time: Name the only pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the history of the Cleveland vs. Cincinnati Ohio Cup rivalry.

What’s next

Here’s what’s going on with the Guardians heading into the Ohio Cup series in Cincinnati.

• Today: The Guardians open a two-game series against the Reds at Great American Ballpark. First pitch is 7:10 p.m.
• Wednesday: The Guardians play the Reds at Great American Ballpark. First pitch is 7:10 p.m.
• Thursday: The Guardians are off.
• June 14: The Guardians open a three-game series against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto. Game time for Game 1 on June 14 is 7:07 p.m.

Trivia answer: Lefty Wade Miley tossed a no-no for the Reds in a 3-0 win on May 7, 2021 at Progressive Field.