The Cleveland Guardians haven’t been shy about leaning on last year’s comeback, and Steven Kwan says that memory is exactly why the clubhouse still believes this season can turn.
After a 9-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday, Cleveland sits four games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox in the division and one game back of the Texas Rangers for the final AL Wild Card spot. With 33 games left, that’s hardly a comfortable spot - but it’s not the kind of hole that rattles this group.
“Having that perspective of last year is huge. Obviously, we were going through a little stretch of not winning some games that we felt like we should, but I mean, felt like last year was a lot bleaker.
It was a lot tougher of a spot that we were in, and to know that we made it out of that. I feel like you come out of what we did last year, we can do anything now this year,” Kwan said.
The context matters. Cleveland spent much of the first three months either in or near first place in the AL Central, so this slide has come after a promising start rather than from the bottom. But since the All-Star break, the Guardians have gone 12-20, and their current two-game winning streak is their first since July 20-21.
That downturn has included a tough recent road trip, where Cleveland went 2-4 against Chicago and the Detroit Tigers.
Last year at this point, the Guardians were in a more precarious position, sitting 10.5 games behind the Tigers in the division and 3.0 games out in the wild-card chase. They answered with a stunning finish, beating Detroit five straight times down the stretch and claiming the AL Central for a second consecutive season.
Now they get another chance to change the story. Cleveland has three games left against the White Sox, all of them set for Sept. 14-16 at Progressive Field, and that series could end up being the biggest one of the year.
There’s also a scheduling break working in their favor. According to Fansided, the Guardians have the easiest remaining strength of schedule in the American League, giving them a path to make another late push into the playoffs.
In Other News...
Kyle Manzardo Is Facing A Big Test In Triple A
Kyle Manzardos return to Triple-A has become more than a simple roster move for the Guardians. After Cleveland brought in Nathaniel Lowe, the club sent Manzardo back down, and he has responded with some real production, putting up a .264/.339/.547 line with four homers in 62 plate appearances. The power is still obvious, and it is easy to see why the organization remains invested in his bat.
The bigger question is what comes next, because the strikeouts and contact issues are still part of the picture. Cleveland seems intent on using this stint to sharpen specific areas of his game rather than just letting the results speak for themselves, which makes this assignment feel like an important checkpoint in his development. For a player with his kind of offensive ceiling, the challenge now is turning those flashes into something more consistent before the next opportunity comes. [Read more 🡒]
Stephen Vogt Has A Lineup Problem Cleveland Cant Ignore
Stephen Vogt has spent much of the season mixing and matching, and the result has been a Guardians lineup that has changed constantly from night to night. Cleveland has already used 119 different lineups, a sign of both the roster flexibility Vogt likes and the uncertainty that comes with it. The idea behind the churn is understandable, but as the season wears on, the club looks like one that could use more definition, not less.
For Cleveland, the argument now is for a steadier core over the final stretch, one that gives players clearer roles and the defense a chance to settle in behind it. The suggested answer is less about chasing a perfect order than about finding one that can stick, with a few spots still rotating while the everyday pieces remain in place. Whether Vogt leans that way will say plenty about how he sees this teams best path forward. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Are Climbing But One Doubt Still Follows This Run
The Guardians have turned a late-season surge into real movement in the AL Central, sweeping the Rockies and pulling within 3.5 games of the first-place White Sox. With Jo Adell and Foster Griffin helping fuel the recent run, Cleveland has made itself a factor again at a time when plenty of teams would already be planning ahead. The schedule also looks favorable, which only adds to the sense that this group has a chance to keep climbing if the momentum holds.
Still, the bigger question is whether the deficit is simply too much to erase with 31 games left, especially with Cleveland sitting one game under .500 and tied for the final AL Wild Card spot. The Guardians have bought themselves meaningful hope, but they have not yet played themselves out of the kind of uncertainty that comes with every stretch run. The next few weeks should show whether this surge is the start of something lasting or just a brief push that leaves them on the edge of the race. [Read more 🡒]