Guardians: Ninth-inning meltdown overshadows franchise-best MLB debut from Angel Genao

CLEVELAND — Top prospect Angel Genao had the greatest major league debut of any player in franchise history Wednesday night at Progressive Field, but thanks to a ninth-inning meltdown from the Guardians, he became a side note to another loss. Genao was the first in a Cleveland uniform to record four hits in his MLB debut, but All-Star closer Cade Smith and shortstop Brayan Rocchio stole his thunder in a 6-5 10-inning loss to the Mets at Progressive Field. The Guardians fell below .500 (57-58) for the first time since May 5 but didn't lose ground to the first-place White Sox. Smith blew his fifth save, getting help from Rocchio, who made an error that allowed New York to score the tying run in the ninth on what would have been the final out of the game. The Mets scored a run off Matt Festa to win in the 10th. "I think the last two times out the command's been a little off, just some mechanical things," manager Stephen Vogt said. "It's very uncharacteristic of Cade." Up until that point, the story was all about Genao, who needed just one pitch to notch his first career hit in his first big league at-bat in the third inning. "It was more than I could have ever imagined, obviously. The last piece was to get the win for the team," Genao said through an interpreter. "But thank God for the opportunity." "Four (hits) in your first (game) is insane," said first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. "He probably feels like Superman. We're super happy for him and hope that he can contribute moving forward." "It's pretty impressive. It didn't look like he was fazed by the big-league level at all," said Cleveland starting pitcher Tanner Bibee, who recorded his first double-digit strikeout total of the season but allowed three home runs over 5 2/3 innings. "Having four hits any day is an amazing day. The fact that it was in your debut is insane." Genao shook off two errors on the first ball hit to him at third base in the fourth to add three more singles, including one that scored the go-ahead run in the seventh. As he got to first, Genao punched the air in celebration. "It was a very exciting moment," he said. "That's a moment I've dreamed of for many years, trying to help the team win. And at the moment, I felt like that was going to be the run that was going to help the team win the game." Situational hitting was a problem again for Cleveland, which went 4-for-19 with runners in scoring position and left 15 on base — 13 over the final seven innings. Lowe, who had his first two hits for the Guardians after being acquired in a trade with the Reds on Monday — including a game-tying, two-run single in the fifth, found a silver lining. "It's encouraging. You can't have those at-bats if the guys in front of you aren't doing their job to get out there and get you in a position to make something happen," Lowe said. "While the success may not be there yet, you can't ask for many more opportunities, so guys are going to keep pushing. "I think it's good for the group to kind of unwind a little bit and realize that a jam ball off the knuckles is just as good as scorching a ball in the gap, as long as your teammates touch the plate." Smith walked two and allowed the Mets to load the bases in the ninth but still had a chance to record his 31st save until Rocchio failed to handle a high hop on a grounder from A.J. Ewing to allow the game-tying run. Vogt wasn't around for the finish, drawing his first ejection of the season for arguing a check swing strikeout call on Chase DeLauter with the bases loaded and Cleveland down a run in the sixth. The manager was surprised by how quickly home plate umpire Chad Whitson tossed him. "A little bit, but you can't leave the dugout, and I took a step out of the dugout," Vogt said. "It was just a big moment. He didn't swing. It happens with Chase. His body goes but his bat doesn't." Steven Kwan had two hits to extend his on-base streak to 22 games, accounting for the second-longest of his career. But after getting the call from the dugout to bunt to lead off the 10th, he popped up to third for the first out. Jose Ramirez, who was out of the lineup with a sore left hand for the second straight game, made an appearance as a pinch runner for DeLauter in the 10th.Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on X.