The Cleveland Guardians dropped their series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday to fall back under .500 at 69-70 and slip to 3.5 games back in the American League Wild Card race.
Time is running out for the Guardians to make another trip to the postseason, and one recent stat revealed a discouraging trend that the Guardians have developed this season.
Cespedes Family BBQ shared on X that the Guardians are fourth in MLB in the number of times being swept this year, as Cleveland has been swept in a series of at least three games eight different times this year, with only the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, and Washington Nationals having been swept more often.
most times being swept this season (in series of 3+ games):
Rockies – 17
White Sox – 11
Nationals – 9
Guardians, Pirates – 8
Giants, Mariners, Braves, A's – 7
Mets, Angels, Rays, Cardinals – 6fewest:
Brewers, Cubs, Reds – 1
Yankees, Red Sox – 3— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) September 4, 2025
The Rockies, White Sox, and Nationals are by far the three worst teams in baseball this year, so it’s not an encouraging sign that the Guardians are in that mix at all.
Cleveland has been swept by the San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, and Texas Rangers, and if a ninth sweep comes to fruition at the hands of the Rays this weekend, Cleveland’s season will be just about over.
Cleveland’s offense has had extended stretches of futility this season, and there have been far too many instances where the Guardians go a week or two without scoring more than three or four runs in a game.
That’s a perfect recipe for getting swept a lot, as in these eight sweeps (all of which were three-game series), Cleveland scored combined totals of four, six, five, six, six, three, five, and three runs.
You’re not winning a series scoring six runs over three games, and you’re most likely getting swept if you score fewer than that.
This issue has to get fixed next season no matter what it takes.
NEXT: Carlos Baerga Says He's 'Happy' 1 Guardians Outfielder Is Back
