The Cleveland Guardians lost in heartbreaking fashion on Wednesday, against the Minnesota Twins. They had the game under control in the late innings, but their relievers lost the strike zone and gave their foes a chance to come back. And they did.
The defeat left the Guardians’ record at a highly disappointing 47-46. They are still one game behind the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central lead, but now the Twins are one game behind Cleveland. It’s now a three-team race for the division, and the Guardians let it happen.
They don’t have anybody else to blame but themselves. They have lost four straight games, all of them against division rivals, and have a mediocre 13-19 record since the start of June.
The Guardians must win on Thursday. Not only will the Twins sweep if they come out on top, but they would also tie them for second in the AL Central.
Analyst Anthony Lima said that Cleveland must not let things get out of hand in terms of losing. These situations tend to snowball and go south quickly, taking teams out of contention if they don’t focus and start dropping games.
“What you absolutely cannot do is let this thing get any worse. It’s a four-game losing streak. You cannot go into the break losing eight in a row or seven of eight. That would be abysmal,” Lima said.
"Do you think they are like 'just get me to (All Star Break) and we can take those 4 days, reset ourselves.'"
"What you can't do is let this thing get any worse."
⚾@KenCarman & @SportsBoyTony on the Guardians 4 game losing streak, recent struggles before All Star Break pic.twitter.com/ChTyFJxAKg
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) July 9, 2026
The Guardians were up 4.5 games in the division in late May, but the White Sox closed in and eventually overtook them. The same is happening with Minnesota: the Twins weren’t even in the picture two or three weeks ago, but Cleveland’s losing ways allowed them to come back in the standings.
The Guardians know from experience how damaging an eight, nine, or ten-game losing streak can be. They have to do everything in their power to avoid falling into that downward spiral again if they want to reach August with a chance to win the division and secure a postseason ticket.
At this point, the Guardians must go to the trade market and bring in the upgrades they need. Otherwise, they would risk losing all the positive things they have achieved to this point.
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