The Cleveland Guardians are doing their best Jekyll and Hyde impression.
They are capable of completing back-to-back walk-off wins against the division-leading Minnesota Twins, yes; but they are also capable of being swept by the Detroit Tigers.
No, that last part is not an example: it actually just happened.
The Guards lost 8-2 to the Tigers on Wednesday, as Detroit completed the sweep over Cleveland.
Shane Bieber wasn’t on his game and surrendered five earned runs in 5.2 frames, while the offense was shut down by Michael Pineda and the Tigers bullpen.
Sports Director at WTOL 11 Jordan Strack perfectly illustrates what just happened.
“The Tigers were 6-13 over their last 19 games. Then, the Guardians came to town & the Tigers just won 4 games in 3 days. On June 22, the Guardians were 8 games over .500 — 2 weeks later they’re back to 40-40. Baseball is weird,” he tweeted.
The Tigers were 6-13 over their last 19 games.
Then, the Guardians came to town & the Tigers just won 4 games in 3 days.
On June 22, the Guardians were 8 games over .500 — 2 weeks later they’re back to 40-40.
Baseball is weird.
— Jordan Strack (@JordanStrack) July 6, 2022
Back To .500
Yes, after catching the Twins in the top spot of the AL Central a couple of weeks ago, the Guardians are back to playing .500 ball and, worse yet, they are five games behind the Twins, who are playing against the Chicago White Sox at the moment of writing this piece.
Baseball is, indeed, weird.
The Guardians are talented enough to rebound and giving the Twins a run for their money, but they will need their stars and supporting cast to step up.
Bieber allowing five earned runs to the Tigers certainly isn’t ideal, for example.
Jose Ramirez need to return to top form, and the rest of the offense beyond Andres Gimenez and Josh Naylor needs to produce, too.
It’s not too late for the Guardians, but they need to start piling up wins instead of losses.
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