CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez hit a three-run homer and Kyle Manzardo went deep on the next pitch in the third inning, helping the Cleveland Guardians beat the American League-leading New York Yankees 6-4 on Monday night.
Ramírez and Manzardo both cleared the fence in right off Clarke Schmidt (0-1), who gave up five runs in four innings. Manzardo has homered in three straight games and has a team-high seven.
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New York Yankees' Aaron Judge warms up before a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, left, talks with New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, right, before a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt pauses after giving up a solo home run to Cleveland Guardians' Kyle Manzardo during the third inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland Guardians' Steven Kwan, right, slides home as he evades a tag by New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
New York Yankees' Jasson Dominguez, right, is greeted by Pablo Reyes (19) after his two-run home run off Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
New York Yankees' Jasson Dominguez celebrates after his two-run home run off Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland Guardians' Steven Kwan (38) and Brayan Rocchio, left rear, congratulate Jose Ramirez, right, after Ramirez's three-run home run off New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt during the third inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland Guardians' Brayan Rocchio watches his RBI single off New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt with catcher Austin Wells during the third inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge watches his double off Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams during the third inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez, right, watches his three-run home run off New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt with catcher Austin Wells, center, and umpire Nick Mahrley, left, during the third inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland led 6-0 before Jasson Domínguez hit a two-run homer in the seventh and Jazz Chisholm Jr., who had been in a 1-for-18 slide, had a two-run drive in the eighth. The Yankees went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.
New York, playing Cleveland for the first time since winning last year's AL Championship Series, lost for the second time in eight games.
Aaron Judge extended his on-base streak to 19 games, going 1 of 4 with a walk, but struck out against Cade Smith with a runner on second for the final out. The reigning AL MVP leads the majors with a .384 average, 33 hits and 25 RBIs.
Gavin Williams (2-1) allowed two runs and seven hits over 6 1/3 innings in his first win over an AL East squad in eight career starts and Smith worked the ninth for his second big league save, his first this season.
Schmidt, who made his season debut last Wednesday, held the Guardians hitless in the first two innings before allowing two homers, two doubles and three singles over the next two frames.
With 668 extra-base hits, all with Cleveland, Ramírez moved past Hall of Famer Tris Speaker for sole possession of second on the team career list behind Hall of Famer Earl Averill (724).
Yankees RHP Will Warren (1-0, 5.17 ERA) takes on Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee (1-2, 5.85 ERA) on Tuesday in the second game of the three-game series.
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New York Yankees' Aaron Judge warms up before a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, left, talks with New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, right, before a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt pauses after giving up a solo home run to Cleveland Guardians' Kyle Manzardo during the third inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland Guardians' Steven Kwan, right, slides home as he evades a tag by New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
New York Yankees' Jasson Dominguez, right, is greeted by Pablo Reyes (19) after his two-run home run off Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
New York Yankees' Jasson Dominguez celebrates after his two-run home run off Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland Guardians' Steven Kwan (38) and Brayan Rocchio, left rear, congratulate Jose Ramirez, right, after Ramirez's three-run home run off New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt during the third inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland Guardians' Brayan Rocchio watches his RBI single off New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt with catcher Austin Wells during the third inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge watches his double off Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams during the third inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez, right, watches his three-run home run off New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt with catcher Austin Wells, center, and umpire Nick Mahrley, left, during the third inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
A group of Buddhist monks and their rescue dog are striding single file down country roads and highways across the South, captivating Americans nationwide and inspiring droves of locals to greet them along their route.
In their flowing saffron and ocher robes, the men are walking for peace. It's a meditative tradition more common in South Asian countries, and it's resonating now in the U.S., seemingly as a welcome respite from the conflict, trauma and politics dividing the nation.
Their journey began Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, and is scheduled to end in mid-February in Washington, D.C., where they will ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday. Beyond promoting peace, their highest priority is connecting with people along the way.
“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trek barefoot. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every stop.
Preferring to sleep each night in tents pitched outdoors, the monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states. Documenting their journey on social media, they — and their dog, Aloka — have racked up millions of followers online. On Saturday, thousands thronged in Columbia, South Carolina, where the monks chanted on the steps of the State House and received a proclamation from the city's mayor, Daniel Rickenmann.
At their stop Thursday in Saluda, South Carolina, Audrie Pearce joined the crowd lining Main Street. She had driven four hours from her village of Little River, and teared up as Pannakara handed her a flower.
“There’s something traumatic and heart-wrenching happening in our country every day,” said Pearce, who describes herself as spiritual, but not religious. “I looked into their eyes and I saw peace. They’re putting their bodies through such physical torture and yet they radiate peace.”
Hailing from Theravada Buddhist monasteries across the globe, the 19 monks began their 2,300 mile (3,700 kilometer) trek at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth.
Their journey has not been without peril. On Nov. 19, as the monks were walking along U.S. Highway 90 near Dayton, Texas, their escort vehicle was hit by a distracted truck driver, injuring two monks. One of them lost his leg, reducing the group to 18.
This is Pannakara's first trek in the U.S., but he's walked across several South Asian countries, including a 112-day journey across India in 2022 where he first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means divine light in Sanskrit.
Then a stray, the dog followed him and other monks from Kolkata in eastern India all the way to the Nepal border. At one point, he fell critically ill and Pannakara scooped him up in his arms and cared for him until he recovered. Now, Aloka inspires him to keep going when he feels like giving up.
“I named him light because I want him to find the light of wisdom,” Pannakara said.
The monk's feet are now heavily bandaged because he's stepped on rocks, nails and glass along the way. His practice of mindfulness keeps him joyful despite the pain from these injuries, he said.
Still, traversing the southeast United States has presented unique challenges, and pounding pavement day after day has been brutal.
“In India, we can do shortcuts through paddy fields and farms, but we can’t do that here because there are a lot of private properties,” Pannakara said. “But what’s made it beautiful is how people have welcomed and hosted us in spite of not knowing who we are and what we believe.”
In Opelika, Alabama, the Rev. Patrick Hitchman-Craig hosted the monks on Christmas night at his United Methodist congregation.
He expected to see a small crowd, but about 1,000 people showed up, creating the feel of a block party. The monks seemed like the Magi, he said, appearing on Christ’s birthday.
“Anyone who is working for peace in the world in a way that is public and sacrificial is standing close to the heart of Jesus, whether or not they share our tradition,” said Hitchman-Craig. “I was blown away by the number of people and the diversity of who showed up.”
After their night on the church lawn, the monks arrived the next afternoon at the Collins Farm in Cusseta, Alabama. Judy Collins Allen, whose father and brother run the farm, said about 200 people came to meet the monks — the biggest gathering she’s ever witnessed there.
“There was a calm, warmth and sense of community among people who had not met each other before and that was so special,” she said.
Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth temple, said the monks, when they arrive in Washington, plan to seek recognition of Vesak, the day which marks the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, as a national holiday.
“Doing so would acknowledge Vesak as a day of reflection, compassion and unity for all people regardless of faith,” he said.
But Pannakara emphasized that their main goal is to help people achieve peace in their lives. The trek is also a separate endeavor from a $200 million campaign to build towering monuments on the temple’s 14-acre property to house the Buddha’s teachings engraved in stone, according to Dong.
The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha himself as core for attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection — observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering. Some of the monks, including Pannakara, walk barefoot to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment.
Pannakara has told the gathered crowds that they don't aim to convert people to Buddhism.
Brooke Schedneck, professor of religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, said the tradition of a peace walk in Theravada Buddhism began in the 1990s when the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, a Cambodian monk, led marches across war-torn areas riddled with landmines to foster national healing after civil war and genocide in his country.
“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” Schedneck said. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired, not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make this sacrifice by walking and being visible.”
On Thursday, Becki Gable drove nearly 400 miles (about 640 kilometers) from Cullman, Alabama, to catch up with them in Saluda. Raised Methodist, Gable said she wanted some release from the pain of losing her daughter and parents.
“I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” she said. “Maybe I could move a little bit forward in my life.”
Gable says she has already taken one of Pannakara’s teachings to heart. She’s promised herself that each morning, as soon as she awakes, she’d take a piece of paper and write five words on it, just as the monk prescribed.
“Today is my peaceful day.”
Freelance photojournalist Allison Joyce contributed to this report.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," get lunch Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Aloka rests with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
A sign is seen greeting the Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Supporters pray with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Supporters watch Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
A Buddhist monk ties a prayer bracelet around the wrist of Josey Lee, 2-months-old, during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Bhikkhu Pannakara leads other buddhist monks in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Audrie Pearce greets Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," arrive in Saluda, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," are seen with their dog, Aloka, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
