Cleveland Guardians in Striking Distance of Top Spot in AL Central

The start of the Cleveland Guardians' quick two-city road trip did not get off to a great start, as they dropped two of three games in their series against the Baltimore Orioles. That series loss represented Cleveland’s second series loss since the start of the month.

Typically, for a team in the middle of the playoff hunt, that could ruin their chances of making it to the postseason in the middle of October.

However, the Guardians are still very much alive not only in the Wild Card race but in the American League Central, too. In fact, Cleveland is within striking distance of overtaking the Chicago White Sox as each team heads into their weekend series.

The Guardians will face the Minnesota Twins, and the White Sox have three games against the St. Louis Cardinals.

At the same time the Guardians dropped their series to the Orioles, the White Sox faced their own issues on the South Side. Chicago was swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates on their home field, opening a window for Cleveland to swoop in and retake its spot as the team to beat in the Central.

Heading into the weekend, Cleveland is just 1.5 games back of the White Sox.

Depending on how each team’s series go over the next three days, there’s a path where the Guardians could be tied or alone at the top of the division on Sunday evening.

To make matters even more dramatic, the Guardians and White Sox will open up a three-game series at Progressive Field starting on Monday, which could very much decide which team ends up winning the division altogether.

“We're not going to let one loss or one series loss get us down,” said manager Stephen Vogt after the series loss in Baltimore. “We're still right where we need to be. Just going to continue to work and take each game as it is.”

To say that the next two series could end up defining Cleveland’s season isn’t dramatic whatsoever. The Guardians have a chance in front of them to claim the top spot in the division and potentially put themselves in position for a bye in the playoffs, too.

Despite all of the frustrations throughout the last few weeks and the season as a whole, the Guardians still have an opportunity to take the spot in the American League Central.