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Brayan Rocchio didn't exactly have a regular season to remember at the plate, but the Cleveland Guardians rookie is making up for it against the New York Yankees — with his bat, at least.
Rocchio hit a third inning line drive single on Tuesday night in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, extending his playoff hitting streak to seven games. That's the longest hitting streak to start a postseason career in Guardians history, according to MLB.com's Sarah Langs.
This comes after Rocchio played 143 games in the regular season, batting just .206 with a 76 OPS+. He didn't exactly end the season on a hot streak, either. Over the last 17 games of the regular season, Rocchio hit .136 with 16 strikeouts in 44 at bats.
But then the postseason started, and Rocchio transformed into the epitome of consistency. He had precisely one hit in each of the first four games against the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series, including two doubles and only two strikeouts in 12 at bats.
Rocchio then turned it up in Cleveland's Game 5 win, going 2-4. He carried it into the Championship Series against the New York Yankees, going 2-4 with a home run in Game 1, ahead of his record-setting hit in Game 2.
Brayan Rocchio's long journey to the Big Leagues with the Guardians
Rocchio is only 23, but he's been in the Guardians' organization for seven years. Signed as an international free agent in 2017, he took his first cuts as a pro in the Dominican Summer League the next summer.
He played more than 500 games between the American minor leagues, DSL, and Venezuelan Summer League, and hit well just about the whole way. He played almost the entire 2023 season in Triple-A, where he hit .280 with a .788 OPS. Rocchio got a quick cup of coffee in the Majors last year before cracking the Guardians' Opening Day roster in 2024.
Though he struggled with the bat during the regular season, manager Stephen Vogt lauded Rocchio's defense during the season, where he was worth seven outs above average, good for ninth in baseball, per Baseball Savant. That was, of course, before he dropped a pop-up that led to the Yankees' first run in Game 2.
After Game 1, Vogt applauded his rookie for staying with it offensively.
“He’s had a great year defensively and has really stepped up for us,” he said. “That’s the beauty of this team, we don’t stop. Even tonight where it felt like we were out of it, we got the tying run to the plate multiple times. This team doesn’t quit, and that’s what I love the most about them. I know we’re going to come back out tomorrow ready to go and fight like we do.”
