The Cleveland Guardians go into their game on Sunday afternoon against the visiting Minnesota Twins with possibly the best defensive catching duo in baseball.

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That’s because the Guardians acquired two-time Gold Glove-winning catcher Patrick Bailey from the San Francisco Giants on Saturday for left-handed pitching prospect Matt Wilkinson and Cleveland’s Competitive Balance Round A pick (29th overall) in the 2026 draft.

He will pair with Austin Hedges after Bo Naylor was sent to Triple-A Columbus after the trade. Utility man David Fry also can catch.

“I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve,” said Bailey, who has played his pro baseball career in the San Francisco organization, which selected him in the first round (13th overall) in the 2020 MLB Draft. “I’m ready to get going and see what’s under the tree.”

But Bailey, who turns 27 on May 29, also knows it will take a while to get comfortable.

“Just trying to get a feel for everybody. I’ve got no chance of getting everybody’s name right,” he added.

According to Fangraphs.com, Bailey’s Defensive Runs Above Average of 102.4 is the best in MLB since 2020.

“This is one of the best, if not the best defensive catcher in baseball,” said Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt. “… I got eight, nine texts from people in the Giants organization raving about him, not wanting him to leave.”

Bailey has struggled at the plate, hitting .146 (12-for-82) with a home run and five RBIs, a .213 on-base percentage and .396 OPS in 30 games with the Giants this season.

“Everybody’s going to see right away, what he’s capable of,” said Hedges, who has a DEF of 82.4 since 2021. “… He’s going to help us so much. He inspires me all of the time when I watch him.”

Bailey is expected to be in uniform and ready to play Sunday in the rubber game of the series after the Twins’ 2-1 win in 11 innings on Saturday night.

“I’m ready to get out there,” Bailey said. “I’ve been waiting to play with Hedges my whole career. To be able to work with him and learn from him. I’m super pumped.”

Gavin Williams (5-2, 3.28 ERA) is Cleveland’s scheduled starter Sunday.

Williams’ last start was a 5-3 loss at Kansas City on Tuesday in which he took the loss, giving up five runs and eight hits in six innings with two walks and seven strikeouts.

In seven appearances, all starts, against the Twins, Williams is 3-2 with a 2.61 ERA. His last start facing Minnesota came at home last Aug. 1, when he did not get a decision despite six innings of four-hit shutout ball. He walked two and struck out eight.

The Twins placed starting pitcher Taj Bradley (4-1, 2.87) on the 15-day injured list on Saturday, retroactive to Tuesday, with pec muscle inflammation.

Bradley had originally been scheduled to start Sunday, so Minnesota’s starter is slated to be opener Andrew Morris. The right-handed reliever is 1-1 with a 4.96 ERA, five walks and 15 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings in his rookie season.

Right-hander Travis Adams was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move.

–Field Level Media

Right-hander Davis Martin had delivered seven shutout innings for the Chicago White Sox on Monday when fellow starter Anthony Kay approached him with a question.

“Why couldn’t you go eight?”

Chicago calls that “chirping,” and the club credits it in part for the success of a starting rotation that has the White Sox aiming to win a series from the visiting Seattle Mariners on Sunday afternoon.

“I think I’m the biggest culprit there, you know. I like to keep things loose,” Kay said. “I joke around a lot with these guys. Even when they’re doing good, I still want them to be better.”

Kay’s kidding aside, it would have been difficult for Martin to have pitched more effectively in the first six weeks of the season.

Fresh off his road gem Monday against the Los Angeles Angels, Martin (5-1, 1.64 ERA) enters with the second-lowest earned run average in baseball, trailing only Cam Schlittler’s 1.35 mark for the New York Yankees.

Martin spaced five hits on Monday while collecting a career-best 10 strikeouts against zero walks.

“It was awesome, executing at a high level, getting ahead, attacking the zone,” Martin said. “Kind of feeling free out there, almost.”

Right-hander Logan Gilbert (2-3, 4.30) will try to slow a White Sox offense that has clubbed five home runs in the first two games of the series.

Miguel Vargas went deep twice to key a 6-1 victory on Saturday. Fueled by Luke Raley’s grand slam and three-run home run, Seattle had four home runs Friday to win a 12-8 slugfest.

One night later, the Mariners collected just four singles, including two from Julio Rodriguez. Kay allowed a run and three hits over five innings to spark Chicago.

“We weren’t able to get too much traffic going,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “It looked like he had pretty good command of the outside corner with some more of the off-speed stuff. Keeping us honest with some good (velocity) on the inner half and making tough at-bats.

“That’s what pitchers do. In and out and change speeds and up and down. And it seemed like he had all three of those going.”

Raley, a left-handed hitter, was not in the starting lineup against Kay, a lefty. Seattle also rested Brendan Donovan, who was in the lineup Friday after being reinstated from the 10-day injured list upon recovering from a strained left groin muscle.

As with Martin, Gilbert also picked up a 5-4 victory on Monday despite yielding four solo home runs to the visiting Atlanta Braves. He gave up six hits in six innings and had two walks and four strikeouts.

Gilbert is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in six career starts versus the White Sox with 33 strikeouts in 30 innings.

Martin is 0-2 with a 4.80 ERA in three career appearances against the Mariners covering 15 innings, including two starts.

Colson Montgomery has reached base in 21 straight games for the White Sox. He hit a two-run home run on Saturday.

–Field Level Media

Martin: https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/05/04/chicago-white-sox-angels-munetaka-murakami/

Gilbert vs. CWS: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=gilbelo01&year=Career&t=p

Martin vs. SEA: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=martida03&year=Career&t=p

–Field Level Media

Veteran left-hander Carlos Rodon is scheduled to make his season debut for the visiting New York Yankees as they look to avoid a series sweep against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.

Rodon has been sidelined since undergoing elbow surgery last October. He will be opposed by right-hander Logan Henderson (0-1, 4.50 ERA), making his third start this season.

The Brewers rallied against the Yankees bullpen to win 4-3 in 10 innings after being held to two hits over six scoreless innings by Yankees starter Cam Schlittler, who lowered his MLB-best ERA to 1.35. After New York scored in the top of the 10th, the Brewers answered with two runs, capped by William Contreras’ walkoff sacrifice fly with the bases loaded.

The series loss is the first for the Yankees since being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game series April 10-12.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said he doesn’t focus on the possibility of a sweep.

“I never look at like when we win the first two games, hey, we won the series,” Murphy said. “I don’t like to think about that. It’s win tonight, we’ll deal with game three tomorrow. I’m sure they have Rodon going. He’s special.”

Rodon made three minor-league rehab starts without a decision and put up a 3.38 ERA. That ERA ballooned after his final tune-up on Tuesday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, when he allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings in an 83-pitch outing. He walked two and struck out four.

“This being probably my third time through a lengthy rehab process, I have some experience, although most people don’t want to really say that,” Rodon told the New York Post on Saturday. “Just [leaning] back on those times and working on the craft and trying to get back here and help the team.”

Rodon was 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA in 33 starts last season and was named to the All-Star team. He was 0-0 with a 9.72 ERA in two postseason starts, allowing nine runs in 8 1/3 innings.

Rodon is 2-1 with a 2.42 ERA in five career starts vs. Milwaukee. He has beaten the Brewers in his lone start against them each of the last two seasons, allowing a combined two runs on six hits in 11 1/3 innings.

Paul Goldschmidt accounted for the first two Yankees runs Saturday with a leadoff homer in the first inning and an RBI single in the fourth. He also singled in the seventh for his first three-hit game since August 2015. Goldschmidt has 21 career homers at American Family Field, his most at any visiting ballpark.

Henderson, who has split time this season with Triple-A Nashville, took the loss in his most recent start, allowing two runs on three hits in six innings in a 3-2 defeat at Washington last Sunday.

Henderson made five starts last season for the Brewers, going 3-0 with a 1.78 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings. He is facing the Yankees for the first time.

Jackson Chourio, whose infield single tied the game at 3-3 in the 10th inning on Saturday, has hit in four consecutive games since coming off the injured list. He is batting .444 (8-for-18) with three doubles and three RBIs since returning.

–Field Level Media