A week ago, we said the Cleveland Guardians needed to get over the .500 mark before we would consider tham a playoff contending team. Well, a seven-game winning streak over some of baseball’s worst teams, the Giants, Rockies, and Angels, got them back to the break-even mark in the midst of a 10-game homestand.
And before people pooh-pooh the streak because of who they were playing, we will respond with would you rather have them lose to bad teams? They took advantage of the schedule and that’s a good thing.
So, Steven Vogt’s crew sits at 68-68 with 26 games to play. Going 17-9 would give them 85 victories and the way the American League is playing this year, that would seem to get them into the post-season for the third straight season.
The Guardians have 13 home games left on the slate, but the problem with that is they have not played well at Progressive Field going just 31-36 in their home ballpark, the worst record among contending playoffs teams in the league.
It is difficult to pinpoint why they are struggling at home. Pitching wise, they have a better ERA at home, 3.65 compared to 3.81 on the road. They score pretty much the same amount of runs per game at Progressive Field and away from the corner of Carnegie and Ontario (4.03 vs. 4.01), so perhaps some sort of winning streak at home in on the horizon.
The old adage in baseball about bullpens is “show me a bad bullpen and we’ll show you a bad team”, and it certainly holds true for Cleveland. Over the past few weeks, the relief corps has been much better, holding opponents in check with the lead and also when trailing, which allowed the Guardians to win the last two games in Anaheim.
In the last two games, both losses to Kansas City, the bullpen did not do its job. Craig Yoho, perhaps overextended to a second inning, gave up a two-run homer in the 9th on Friday, anc Colin Holderman, normally reliable, imploded yesterday.
The offense has picked up as well after the additions made at the trade deadline. The team OPS in August has been 715, the highest in any month this season. We also have to figure in another addition that did not come in a trade, and that is INF Angel Genao, who has hit .284 with a .342 on base percentage since his call up.
And with him, we would expect more pop as he gains experience.
Overall, Jo Adell has hit some big home runs (and some tape measure shots), but his issue against right-handed pitching is still a problem. Since arriving here, he has a 589 OPS vs. righties and has fanned 20 times in 61 at bats. If Vogt (and the front office) are going to play him in these situations, he should not be in the middle of the order.
Nathaniel Lowe has been fine, although his OPS of 641 is less than Kyle Manzardo, the player he basically replaced.
But the real reason for the offensive surge is Steven Kwan, who is back to being, well, Steven Kwan. He is hitting .337 in August with a .440 on base percentage and is back to being the ignitor (nod to Paul Molitor) at the top of the order. Since the all-star break, his numbers are even better, with a .370 average and getting on base at a .459 clip.
With he and Chase DeLauter (.359 OBP) at the top of the order, the table is set for the middle of the order and having the first two hitters on with no one out usually results in an early lead for Cleveland.
With a 10 game homestand that started Friday, it’s time to start entertaining the home crowd with some victories in downtown Cleveland. Doing that would set them up well for the stretch drive.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 