Cleveland Guardians at Cincinnati Reds: Final Score & Recap

The Cleveland Guardians handed the Cincinnati Reds a 6-1 defeat at Great American Ball Park on July 29, 2026, turning what the DiamondIQ model opened as an even contest — 50 percent home win probability — into a complete Reds collapse by the final out. Cleveland did its damage in concentrated bursts, plating four runs in the fifth inning and two more in the seventh while Cincinnati's two errors compounded the damage. The Reds managed just one run in the bottom of the sixth and finished with six hits against a Cleveland pitching staff that gave them nothing comfortable to work with.

The fifth inning was the game's defining sequence and produced three of the five biggest win-probability swings of the night, all against Brady Singer. Kyle Manzardo's walk to open the frame added 9.8 percent to Cleveland's win probability, Chase DeLauter's walk extended that momentum with a 7.8 percent swing, and Travis Bazzana's single contributed another 7.5 percent as the Guardians pushed four runs across and effectively broke the game open. Cincinnati's lone response came in the sixth when Noelvi Marte's single off Franco Aleman represented the Reds' best individual play of the game, adding 8.6 percent to their win probability — a brief flicker that produced one run but no sustained threat.

On the individual side, José Ramírez led all batters with a plus-11.4 percent WPA and an RE24 of plus-0.8, while Travis Bazzana was close behind at plus-10.9 percent WPA and Steven Kwan contributed plus-9.5 percent. On the mound, Joey Cantillo was the standout performer of the game, posting plus-15.6 percent WPA — the highest mark by any player on either side — with Erik Sabrowski adding plus-7.9 percent and Colin Holderman contributing plus-4.2 percent as Cleveland's bullpen secured the final innings without incident.