Reds visit Guardians, vie to retain the Ohio Cup in weekend series

The Cleveland Guardians are coming off a three-game sweep of the visiting Los Angeles Angels as they host the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game weekend set on Friday night.

This isn't an ordinary series, however. On Rivalry Weekend, the teams will play for the Ohio Cup. And the Reds certainly want to hang onto it after winning it in 2025 for the first time since 2014. The Reds won five of six games against the Guardians last season.

Entering this series, the Guardians and Reds are at opposite ends of the standings. Cleveland is 24-21 and leads the American League Central by a game over the second-place Chicago White Sox, and Cincinnati is 23-21 and in last place in the National League Central, five games behind the front-running Chicago Cubs.

And the Reds will face a Guardians team that hasn't had much rest lately. Thursday was the first day off for Cleveland after playing 13 games in 13 days.

Slumping left fielder and leadoff man Steven Kwan is expected to return to the lineup after not playing Wednesday. An All-Star the past two seasons, Kwan is hitting .206 in 41 games in 2026 and .167 with one RBI in 11 games in May.

"I think we've seen some really good signs from Kwani during this 13-game stretch," Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. "He's had a couple games where he's gotten a couple hits and a couple walks. ... Kwani is one of our best players. We go as he goes."

Right-hander Tanner Bibee (0-5, 4.17 ERA) is the Guardians' scheduled starter for Friday.

Bibee's most recent outing was his third quality start of the season, but he was left without a decision after walking two and striking out nine in a 2-1, 11-inning loss to the Minnesota Twins on Saturday. Byron Buxton's home run to lead off the game was the only run and hit Bibee surrendered.

"Tanner was great. Really dialed, good stuff, making great pitches all night. Never got in trouble," Vogt said after the game. " ... I thought it was as good of a mix as we've seen with Tanner. Execution was phenomenal. It was really good."

In three career starts against the Reds, Bibee is 1-2 with a 4.42 ERA. He last faced Cincinnati in a road contest on May 16, 2025, and took the 5-4 loss, allowing five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in six innings.

Reds manager Terry Francona managed the Cleveland franchise from 2013-23, so he's accustomed to being in possession of the Ohio Cup. Warming up for the in-state clash, the Reds averted a three-game series sweep by the Washington Nationals on Thursday afternoon with a 15-1 drubbing.

Cincinnati had lost 10 of 12 entering the game.

JJ Bleday led the onslaught with two home runs and six RBIs, and Matt McLain and Dane Myers also homered.

"You're never going out there trying to go put up 15 runs," Bleday said. "That's just a by-product of having good at-bats and playing good defense and throwing the ball well. I think we're capable of playing some really good baseball, and we still have a long season ahead of us.

"I think if we have that mindset every day and every pitch, good things are going to come in our way, because we have a lot of talent on this team, and it's just fun being around."

Cincinnati is set to send left-hander Andrew Abbott (2-2, 4.47 ERA) to the mound on Friday.

Like Bibee, Abbott is coming off of a stellar performance. Abbott threw six shutout innings and allowed three hits with a walk and five strikeouts on Sunday in a 5-0 victory over the visiting Houston Astros. He was even more impressive in his most recent start against Cleveland, which was June 10, 2025. He threw a complete game three-hit shutout in a 1-0 win.

Abbott is 3-1 with a 2.11 ERA in four starts against Cleveland in his career.

--Field Level Media