The Cleveland Guardians are finally showing hints of last year’s team that won the American League Central and advanced to the ALCS.
That team had 42 comeback wins, which are 17 more than this year’s iteration with 29 games left in the regular season. But the 2025 Guardians are fresh off back-to-back walk-off victories, giving fans hope that another playoff push is coming.
At the center of Cleveland’s recent late-game heroics is right fielder Nolan Jones, who has struggled at the plate for much of the season.
Jones sparks Guards’ walk-off wins
Jones’ fourth home run of the season came at the perfect time against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. Trailing by one, the 27-year-old lefty launched a 428 ft. homer that tied the game with one out in the ninth inning. Cleveland walked it off in the 10th for a 4-3 victory.
Just two days later, Jones sparked a comeback once again. The Seattle Mariners, four games ahead of the Guardians for the last AL Wild Card spot, plated four runs in the first inning on Friday night at Progressive Field.
But Cleveland never quit. Jones narrowed the deficit to 4-2 with a home run to center field in the seventh, then made a spectacular throw in the eighth to nab Randy Arozarena at third base.
His biggest moment came in the ninth, which he led off with a double to right. He scored the tying run on Brayan Rocchio’s RBI single before the Guardians walked it off on Steven Kwan’s sacrifice fly that brought in Rocchio from third.
Just like that, Cleveland secured a 5-4 win over Seattle.
“He’s had a great couple days, and I’m excited for him,” Guardians’ manager Stephen Vogt said, per MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins. “We talked about it the other day. He has not had the best season.”
“But for him to continue to work, continue to be willing to make adjustments with our hitting team, and to see it start to get some results, it’s just been great.”
Jones, a second-round pick by Cleveland in the 2016 Draft, is only slashing .219/.311/321 with five homers and 31 RBI this year. But the Guardians will continue to need his bat if they hope to sneak into the postseason.
