Thursday’s win over the San Francisco Giants was huge for the Cleveland Guardians, for several reasons. It allowed them to move one game closer to the Chicago White Sox for the top of the AL Central, and it gave them their first series win of August.
The Guardians are now 4.5 games behind the Sox for the division lead, and one game behind the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers in the quest for the third and final Wild Card spot. Now, Cleveland will go to Colorado to play one of the worst teams in the National League: the Rockies.
Steven Kwan, who was on base four times in Thursday’s win, sent an important message to his teammates: they have to keep up the momentum. That means winning another series in Colorado, a tough venue for pitchers for its high altitude and the way that batted balls behave.
“Hopefully, we can get on that flight, have a good time, be in a really cool city, and kind of just ride that momentum. That’s crazy. It’s been a month. I guess it kind of felt like that. Baseball is all about runs, and hopefully we can go on a run right now, and take it really far,” Kwan said.
"Hopefully, we can get on that flight, have a good time, be in a really cool city, and kind of just ride that momentum."
(Via #Guardians Zoom) Steven Kwan on Cleveland's much needed series win#GuardsBall @WEWS pic.twitter.com/wTttXjEbhp
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) August 20, 2026
Cleveland badly needs to go on a run. The division, believe it or not, is still well within reach, and the team brought in quality pieces to contribute in the stretch run. Jo Adell, who is a bit banged up, is a beast vs. lefties, and Nathaniel Lowe helps a lot against righties. Kwan has been red-hot in the second half, and Jose Ramirez is showing signs of life.
The Guardians’ offense is the unit that will make or break the team’s postseason chances. We know by now that the pitching staff can silence any offense and is mostly competitive, but the same can’t be said about the offense.
As long as they enjoy more days like Tuesday and Thursday and not like Wednesday, when they were shut out, the Guardians will be in good shape. It’s much easier said than done, but they have the pieces to string together some wins.
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