The Cleveland Guardians are timing their surge perfectly. They’ve won five straight and six of their last seven, and that September push has put them back on top of the AL Central heading into the final week.
At 81-75, Cleveland is playing its best baseball of the season at exactly the right moment. That doesn’t erase the flaws.
The rotation still looks shaky beyond Gavin Williams and Parker Messick, and the offense enters Monday ranked 26th out of 30 teams in runs scored. But the Guardians keep finding ways to win, and that has made them a tough out.
MLB.com’s final-week power rankings reflected that reality, slotting Cleveland at No. 10.
Will Leitch wrote, “The Guardians’ fight back to the top of the AL Central wasn’t as dramatic as last year’s, but if they can end up atop the division when it’s all said and done, it won’t matter. And if they do … they might just get a first-round bye out of it,”
Only the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox are ranked ahead of the Guardians among American League clubs. Even with that placement, Cleveland could still wind up with the second seed in the postseason field.
The Rays, who lead the AL East, are essentially locked into the top seed. Since division winners get the three best seeds and the Guardians currently own the second-best record among those teams, Cleveland could earn a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the Division Series if it stays ahead of the Chicago White Sox and finishes with a better record than the AL West winner.
Jose Ramirez is finally coming around, and the young core around him is starting to look dangerous. Messick, Williams, Chase DeLauter, Travis Bazzana, and Cade Smith give Cleveland a promising group, and right now the Guardians are one of the hottest teams in the American League.
In Other News...
Guardians Moved Within Reach Of October After A Win That Got Tense
The Guardians gave themselves another October boost with a fast start and enough steady work from the mound to hold off a late push. Angel Martnez, David Fry and Nathaniel Lowe all helped build the early cushion, and Parker Messick did his part in a five-inning start before the bullpen took over to finish the job.
Tim Herrin, Craig Yoho, Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith each had a hand in protecting the lead, keeping Cleveland in control even as the game tightened down the stretch. The win leaves the Guardians with a magic number of two to clinch a playoff spot, and depending on how the other results break, it could shrink to one before long. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Are Suddenly One Step Closer To A Clinch After Another Thriller
The Guardians kept finding ways to survive on September 22, outlasting the Red Sox 3-2 in another tight, late-September game that fit the tone of a team trying to finish the job. Nathaniel Lowe provided the decisive blow with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, while Parker Messick did enough in his start to keep Cleveland in position before the bullpen took over.
Cade Smith finished it off and reached 40 saves on the year, a notable marker for a club that has leaned on its late-inning arm all season. The bigger picture is even better for Cleveland: its magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to two, and the Guardians still sit atop the AL Central as the calendar turns toward the final stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Vogts Late-Game Guardians Move Is Becoming A Real October Weapon
Travis Bazzanas rookie season has come with the usual growing pains, and for Stephen Vogt, that has meant getting creative when games tighten up late. The Guardians manager has turned to Angel Genao as a defensive replacement in key spots, using his versatility around the infield to help shore up a young roster when the margin for error shrinks. It is the sort of September adjustment contenders make when every clean inning and every sure-handed exchange starts to matter more.
Against the Red Sox, that move paid off in a big way, as Genao made a crucial defensive play that helped close out the win and trim Clevelands magic number to clinch a postseason berth. The contrast between the two young infielders has become part of the clubs late-game equation, with Genao offering the steadier glove right now while Bazzana continues to work through the challenges of his first full season. For a team trying to lock down October, those small swaps can carry outsized weight. [Read more 🡒]