The Cleveland Guardians are on fire and have positioned themselves in the heart of the AL Wild Card race despite a season full of offensive ineptitude, gambling scandals and long losing streaks.
Cleveland has won 11 of its past 12 games to climb in the standings, which has prompted one analyst to make a bold prediction about its near future.
During a recent episode of “The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show,” Adam the Bull said that for the Guardians to win the AL Central, they have to sweep the Detroit Tigers in their current series and then win all of their remaining games to catch them.
“To win the division, they’ll probably have to go 13-0, maybe 12-1 possibly. … We’ll hope for a miracle in the division, you never know. It’s still a long shot that they make the playoffs, period, but if they’re going to do it, they’ve got to sweep Detroit,” Gerstenhaber said.
.@adamthebull says the #Guardians are a long shot to make the playoffs, but if they're going to make it… They must sweep the Tigers!
▶️: https://t.co/TTMON8SWhZ pic.twitter.com/1QKR582Nid
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) September 16, 2025
Cleveland can make the playoffs without sweeping Detroit, but the Guardians probably have to if they are going to win the AL Central.
The Guardians are 4.5 games behind the Tigers and are projected to face likely AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal twice before the season ends.
The Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners currently have the final two AL Wild Card spots, and neither has been playing well as they navigate injuries to some of their best hitters.
The Guardians can only control what’s in front of them, and that’s the Tigers.
NEXT: Bruce Drennan Praises Guardians' Minor League Affilliates
