The Cleveland Guardians just can’t catch a break.
Playing in front of their home crowd, they lost 5-3 to the reigning World Series champions, the Texas Rangers, on Friday night.
It’s the third consecutive loss for Cleveland, which combined with the Kansas City Royals’ 7-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, means they only lead the AL Central by one game heading into Saturday.
The Minnesota Twins lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, so they remain two games behind the Guardians.
Kansas City, however, is a real threat.
Cleveland enjoyed a nine-game lead as recently as June 25.
Now, they are close to blowing it.
“The Guardians’ lead in the AL Central has shrunk to just 1 game for the first time since the morning of May 14,” Guardians insider Mandy Bell tweeted.
The Guardians’ lead in the AL Central has shrunk to just 1 game for the first time since the morning of May 14.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) August 24, 2024
Manager Stephen Vogt and his team have a mediocre 15-17 record in the second half.
The Royals, on the other hand, have won seven of their last ten games and are surging at the right time.
On Friday, starter Tanner Bibee wasn’t at his best and lost the game after allowing four runs and eight hits in 5.2 frames.
It wasn’t a disastrous game by any means for the talented righty, but given how badly the Guards’ offense has been playing in recent games, the four runs represented an insurmountable lead.
Corey Seager and Leody Taveras drove in two runs each, and Nathan Eovaldi logged a quality start to lift his team to the victory.
Cleveland is in danger of losing the top spot in the AL Central this weekend if they don’t right the ship.
NEXT: Guardians Insider Discusses Emmanuel Clase's Workload Concerns
