The Cleveland Guardians are still alive in the MLB playoff race, but is momentum shifting in the opposite direction?

The Cleveland Guardians entered Friday night with an opportunity to punch their ticket to the postseason. Unfortunately, the clubhouse champagne party will have to wait, if it happens at all.

For the first time since the first days of September, the Guardians have dropped back-to-back games with losses to the Detroit Tigers and now the Texas Rangers.

Mathematically, the Guardians leave the night the same way they entered it, tied at the top of the American League Central with the Tigers, while owning the tiebreaker to essentially give them sole possession of the lead.

However, it’s starting to feel like momentum may be shifting in the opposite direction with how the Guardians have actually played on the field in their last two matchups. 

Cleveland’s pitching was never going to maintain the run they were on; it’s impossible to expect a rotation to continue to give up two runs or less in each start, and the bullpen to put the game on ice in each of their outings, too.

We’re starting to see the rotation slightly show some of its cracks or signs of fatigue with Parker Messick giving up four earned runs on Thursday, and Slade Cecconi four runs of his own in the series opener against the Rangers.

The Guardians' formula for winning games and ultimately reaching the playoffs has been their pitching staff. 

But with the arms not looking their sharpest, the offense has to be ready to pick the team up, and that just hasn’t happened the last two nights, especially against Texas.

Cleveland only scored four runs on 10 hits in their last 18.0 innings. The Guardians have had opportunities to score more runs in these games, but have hit just .250 with runners in scoring position over the outing (3-for-12). 

Simply put, the Guardians’ bat must be better over the next two games to punch their ticket to the playoffs.

Even though it may seem from the outside that Cleveland is starting to show its cracks, the team remains confident.

“We still get to control our own destiny,” said Stephen Vogt after the loss. “Obviously, it hurts. It hurts to lose right now, 'cause every game's magnified. 
”We know it's a short schedule left, but our guys are gonna come ready. You know, even right after the third out, everybody's like, ‘Hey, we get them tomorrow." 

There’s a lot going on around the Guardians right now, and plenty of reasons for Cleveland to scoreboard watch.

Even with all of that, it's important that the Guardians keep the focus on themselves and what they can do on the field to increase their chance of reaching the playoffs.