The Cleveland Guardians had another chance to regain control of the AL Central race during a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox over the July 4th holiday weekend. It got off to a good start with dramatic victories in the first two games, but it fell apart at the end with two straight losses to wind up with a split.
As a result, the Guardians enter play on Tuesday one game behind the White Sox for first place in the division. Though it may be a tad early with fewer than 100 games played this season, it should be noted that the deficit is two in the loss column.
With that in mind, the Guardians made a concerning move in Bleacher Report’s latest power rankings, falling from No. 12 to No. 15.
“The Guardians picked up back-to-back crucial wins in walk-off fashion, beating the White Sox first on a Brayan Rocchio home run and second on a Kahlil Watson single. (Quite the moment in just the 15th game of his MLB career.) But they turned around and gave those wins right back to the White Sox to split the series and fall back into second place in the AL Central. Cleveland’s ‘Last Week’ record has now been .500 or worse in six consecutive power rankings updates, and Jose Ramirez’s broken hamate cannot heal fast enough,” Kerry Miller wrote.
The Guardians and White Sox met for the first time this season from June 22 to 24 at Chicago’s Rate Field. In that three-game series, the White Sox won the first two games before the Guardians avoided a sweep with an extra-inning victory.
In the latest series, which started on July 2 at Progressive Field, Cleveland won the first two games, with Rocchio’s bottom-of-the-ninth homer and Watson’s 10th-inning single capping those comebacks. The Guardians moved back into first place and could have added to their lead, but the White Sox responded by winning the final two games, and they have risen to No. 8 in these power rankings, notably ahead of the New York Yankees at No. 9.
Not only are the Guardians in second place, but the third-place Minnesota Twins have been steadily gaining on them. Cleveland leads Minnesota by just 3.0 games, after holding a 7.0-game lead for a good part of June.
The Guardians should be given some credit for staying afloat while Chase DeLauter, Jose Ramirez, and Angel Martinez have been on the injured list. DeLauter has returned with a hot streak, and the lineup will improve even more when Ramirez and Martinez get back.
There is still a long way to go, but the Guardians should try to build momentum heading into the All-Star break, and maybe retake first place before it arrives.
NEXT: Analyst Raises Concerns About Guardians' Inconsistent Bullpen
