Pesky Guardians Say They Are Refusing To Give Up On Postseason Hopes

The Cleveland Guardians still have a chance to reach the postseason, with the calendar just one day away from turning to September.

On the one hand, it might not be all that surprising. The Guardians won the American League Central division last year and advanced to the American League Championship Series, where the New York Yankees defeated them.

On the other hand, it’s surprising that the Guardians are still in contention. This season has not been nearly as magical as 2024.

The Guardians had a 10-game losing streak from June 26-July 6, which dropped them 15 ½ games behind the division-leading Detroit Tigers and seemed to have effectively extinguished any playoff hopes.

Emmanuel Clase, their three-time All-Star closer, has not pitched since July 26. He is on the restricted list along with right-handed starter Luis Ortiz as part of a gambling investigation by Major League Baseball. There is a chance that both players will receive a lifetime ban.

The Guardians’ offense has been awful all season. Cleveland’s .224 batting average is the lowest in the major leagues, and the Guardians have been shut out 15 times.

Guardians Are Hanging Tough

Yet, with four weeks and one day left in the season, the Guardians are three games out of the last AL wild card despite a 68-66 record. The Mariners currently hold the third wild card, but the Guardians gained two games on visiting Seattle in two nights by winning Friday and Saturday at Progressive Field.

The Guardians have an uphill battle to reach the playoffs. However, they say they aren’t going away.

“I think that just shows that we have each other’s backs,” All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan said of the Guardians still being in contention. “There’s been some down times this year, and we haven’t always played great, but I think that we’ve never quit trusting in each other.

“It’s easy when you’re losing just to try to hit as many home runs as possible or just put the best numbers you can and just block everything else out. But you see us, we’re not worrying about our own numbers and just trying to get the season over with. Everyone is doing the little things on offense. Everyone is contributing. The defense has been great. The pitching has been great.”

Guardians Bounce Back From Rough Stretch

The Guardians have won four games in a row after a stretch of nine losses in 10 games that seemed to kill their last vestiges of playoff hopes. Yet if the Guardians beat the Mariners again on Sunday to sweep the three-game series, they will be even closer to the last wild card.

The Guardians’ Stephen Vogt was the AL Manager of the Year last year in his first season on the job and just two years after retiring as a player. It might be a greater feat if he can get the Guardians to the playoffs this season.

Vogt, though, deflects credit to his players.

“I’m super proud of this group,” Vogt said. “They’ve been kicked in the gut over and over this year. Some of it has been by our own doing. But no matter what they go through, no matter what happens to them, they’re a resilient group; they respond, and they don’t go away. And I’m just really proud of it.”

The loss of Clase has hurt in two possible ways.

One, the Guardians lost a closer who led the AL in saves each of the last three seasons with 42 in 2022, 44 in 2023, and 47 in 2024. Clase converted 24 of 29 save opportunities this year.

Secondly, the Guardians could have dealt Clase by the July 31 trade deadline and gotten a package of young hitters in return.

Cade Smith Steps Up For Guardians

Instead, set-up reliever Cade Smith has become the primary closer since Clase went on the restricted list. Smith retired the last four batters on Saturday night to get credit for the save in a 4-3 victory.

Smith said he and the rest of the relievers have tried to take a simple approach with Clase absent.

“It’s not about trying to compensate and do too much,” Smith said. “It’s about, you got to trust what you do well, you trust what the guys in the bullpen can do, what their strengths are. Everyone has their different strengths, and it’s really just about staying within yourself. It’s not trying to do too much.

“It’s just taking it one day at a time and confronting the challenge we have ahead of us, and the goal each day is just looking forward to the game that night.”

That may seem simple and somewhat clichéd. Yet, it’s working.

And the Cleveland Guardians have a singular goal in mind: “We’ve got one thing we’re focused on and that’s playing in October,” Kwan said.