September has a way of bringing out the same familiar storyline in Cleveland: the Guardians are right back in the hunt.
After rallying past the Minnesota Twins on Friday, Cleveland is suddenly just a half-game behind the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central. That gap looked a lot different in mid-August, when the Guardians were six games back. Now the race is tightening fast, and the next few days could flip the standings again.
That’s the kind of stretch Angel Martinez expected this club to handle. The outfielder put it plainly when asked about the pressure of the moment.
“Every single day, we just want to win,” Martinez said. “We’re just going to go out there and try to win.
So no pressure at all. Like, that’s how we play.
That’s what we do.”
For Cleveland, this chase has a familiar feel. Last season, the Guardians staged a stunning September surge from 11 games back to catch the Detroit Tigers and win the division. The year before that, they finished strong again, pulling away in the final month to win by 6.5 games.
This time, they’re climbing while the team in front of them slips. The White Sox came into September with a 3.5-game lead, but they’ve dropped four straight and seven of nine since then. Chicago is also trying to work through its first recent pennant race after back-to-back 100-loss seasons.
The Guardians haven’t exactly been scorching, either, going 5-4 over that same stretch. But they’ve done enough to keep themselves in striking distance, and a win Saturday evening could leave them tied for first before the White Sox even take the field against the St. Louis Cardinals.
That makes the upcoming three-game series at Progressive Field, which starts Monday, the biggest set of the season. It’s the same kind of late-season showdown Cleveland navigated so well a year ago, when it beat the Tigers in five of six September games on the way to the title.
Martinez is arriving at the right time. He has five hits in his last three games, and three of them have gone for extra bases. The numbers have followed: career highs of 15 home runs and 52 RBIs, plus a .248 batting average that would also be his best mark.
After three seasons of learning from the players around him, Martinez looks ready for this moment. For the Guardians, that matters now more than ever.
In Other News...
Guardians Face One Offseason Rotation Decision Fans Will Debate
Cleveland has spent this season leaning on a rotation that has stayed remarkably steady, with young arms like Parker Messick, Gavin Williams, Joey Cantillo and Tanner Bibee giving the club a clear base to work from. Even as the Guardians have built around that group, the offseason conversation is already starting to circle one familiar name: Shane Bieber, who is now a free agent after injury struggles and limited starts with the Toronto Blue Jays.
A return to Cleveland would carry obvious appeal on paper, especially for a pitcher who once helped define the staff, but the expectation around the league is that the Guardians will largely keep the current rotation intact going into next season. Foster Griffins status adds another layer to watch, though the bigger question for fans is whether the organization sees any reason to reopen a spot for Bieber or simply move ahead with the young core it has already put in place. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians May Have Unlocked More In Craig Yoho Than Milwaukee Did
Craig Yoho has looked like a different reliever since landing with Cleveland in the trade from Milwaukee, and the early returns suggest the Guardians may have found something the Brewers did not fully tap into. In his last 14 innings, he has worked to a 1.29 ERA with 20 strikeouts and just three walks, a run of effectiveness that has fit neatly into the middle-leverage spots Cleveland has been willing to give him.
A big part of the jump appears to be an adjusted pitching approach, especially a heavier dose of his changeup. For a bullpen that always values usable weapons it can trust in the middle innings, Yohos growth is the kind of quiet development that can matter over a long season, even if the full payoff of this version of him is still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]
Which Guardians Hitter Fans Trust Most In Walk Off Spots
Close games have become part of the Guardians daily routine, and the latest reminder came in a series that featured three walk-off victories. For a team that keeps finding itself in those tight, late-inning spots, the question naturally shifts from whether it will have another chance to who should be at the plate when it comes. The answer depends on more than just a big swing, because recent performance, past walk-off experience and each hitters role all matter when the game gets to that final at-bat.
The ranking of current Guardians hitters starts with the players fans have already seen handle pressure, then works through the bats most likely to be involved when the game is on the line. Some names bring a history of coming through in walk-off situations, while others earn trust because theyre the ones most likely to be in those moments regardless of matchup. In a season built around so many one-run decisions, the order of confidence in that spot says as much about the clubs identity as any single late hit. [Read more 🡒]