Last year, the Cleveland Guardians were a mess between injuries and unexpected poor performances.
They missed the postseason and watched the Minnesota Twins win the AL Central.
The Twins are widely viewed as Cleveland’s main competitor this year, too.
The tables have turned, though, and the Guardians are now looking like the much better squad at least to this point.
Cleveland finished off a sweep of the Twins on Sunday by beating them 5-2.
The win helped them achieve two things: a perfect 5-0 mark against Minnesota this year and 30 wins.
The Guards are joining three other squads with that last number.
“The Guardians are the fourth MLB team to reach 30 wins. They’re 5-0 against the Twins,” Zack Meisel tweeted.
The Guardians are the fourth MLB team to reach 30 wins.
They're 5-0 against the Twins.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) May 19, 2024
They outscored, outpitched, and outclassed Minnesota all weekend, and that becomes evident in the run differential.
Between the three games, Cleveland won the aggregate score 19-8.
They looked like the better team all weekend, and now lead the AL Central with a 30-17 record.
On Sunday, the Guardians took advantage of a brilliant mound presentation by Tanner Bibee to take the series finale in impressive fashion.
Bibee tossed seven solid innings with just one run allowed, from a Juan Miranda solo home run.
He conceded just four hits and a walk, with eight strikeouts.
Second baseman Andres Gimenez and outfielder Will Brennan helped Bibee from the plate, with important home runs to put some distance between the two teams.
The New York Yankees (33-15), the Philadelphia Phillies (34-14) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (31-17) are the other three organizations with at least 30 victories as of Sunday afternoon.
Cleveland keeps showing that it has what it takes to make it to October.
NEXT: 2 Guardians Players Who Are Exceeding Expectations
