CLEVELAND -- September callups aren’t what they used to be. There isn’t a long list of wide-eyed prospects sitting on the bench, ready to get a chance if their name is called. Now, with just two extra roster spots, teams have to be intentional with their picks to make sure the names they’re selecting will make an impact.

And that’s exactly what Cleveland’s two new additions did on Sunday.

Maybe Alex Cobb isn’t your textbook September callup, since he was already a regular on the Major League roster, but he had been on the injured list the last two weeks with a finger injury and couldn’t return before rosters expanded on Sunday. And with a handful of Minor League bats to choose from, the Guardians decided to recall Kyle Manzardo to fill the last vacancy.

Without six perfect innings from Cobb or a two-homer game from Manzardo, Cleveland may not have ended up with a 6-1 win in the series finale against the Pirates at Progressive Field. The Guardians now have a 3 1/2-game lead over the Royals and Twins in the AL Central.

Let’s start with Manzardo.

His first stint with Cleveland this year was underwhelming, as he hit .207 with a .570 OPS in 30 games. Not only was Cleveland’s No. 3 prospect trying to adjust to the Majors for the first time, but he was also learning to just be a designated hitter, rather than a first baseman. So when he went back to Triple-A Columbus, he knew what he had to do.

“I was DHing back-to-back games in Columbus,” Manzardo said. “I think that helped me iron out a routine, what I need to be doing in between at-bats.”

It worked. In his first game back in the DH role in the big leagues, Manzardo smacked his first career homer off of Pirates starter Mitch Keller in the fourth inning, before launching his second one in the sixth.

Manzardo became the 10th player in Cleveland history to hit his first two career homers in the same game, joining Ernie Clement, Herbert Perry, Manny Ramirez, Luis Medina, Jerry Willard, Jack Brohamer, Ray Boone, Hank Ruszkowski and Lou Boudreau.

This was day one of Manzardo attempting to prove he can make an impact on this team down the stretch. The goal now is to continue to show he can handle being solely a DH.

“Just showing up and just trying to dominate my job,” Manzardo said.

The only thing that could share the spotlight with Manzardo on Sunday was six perfect innings from Cobb.

Cobb was acquired at the Trade Deadline while on the 60-day IL to bring a veteran presence to a young rotation while eating up innings to save an overtaxed bullpen. But after just two starts with Cleveland, he split open his fingernail, sidelining him for two more starts. It’s been impossible for him to settle in on the mound.

That is, until Sunday.

Forget the injuries. Forget not having pitched in 18 days. Cobb was untouchable. He was perfect through the first six innings against the Pirates, forcing 11 groundouts, striking out six and getting the final batter in the sixth to line out to center field. When he returned in the seventh, he gave up a leadoff comebacker to Isiah Kiner-Falefa that hit off of his left wrist and fell to the infield grass for a single, ending his magical run.

“That was spectacular,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “That was vintage Alex Cobb. … The ball didn’t get into the air until the sixth inning. That was just beautiful."

After Cobb gave up a single to the next batter he faced, Vogt turned to his bullpen and Cobb walked off the field to a roaring ovation from the home crowd. It was the deepest into a game that a Cleveland pitcher has been perfect since Triston McKenzie tossed 7 2/3 perfect innings on Aug. 15, 2021, against the Tigers.

Once the Guardians officially clinch a postseason spot, they’ll have to figure out who the best and most reliable starters would be in the early rounds. And if Sunday was a preview of what’s to come with Cobb, he may earn his spot over the next few weeks.

“I know that they brought me over here to be one of those stable pieces in the rotation every fifth day,” Cobb said. “The bullpen was eating up a lot of those innings [when I split my nail] that they brought me over here to cover. Hopefully that’s behind me and I can cover those innings going forward.”