Cleveland Guardians: A tough stretch of games continues

Nobody likes a weekend sweep at the hands of the Red Sox, but the Guardians have no time to reflect, as this grueling stretch of games continues.

The Cleveland Guardians were just served a heaping helping of reality over the weekend by the surging Boston Red Sox, but the tough stretch of the schedule doesn’t stop there.

The Guardians will have to put Boston’s sweep behind them quickly, as they begin a rare five-game series against the Twins at home Monday night before hosting the otherworldly New York Yankees this coming weekend.

This is a particularly grueling stretch of the season for the Guardians, going from a nine-game road trip out west that included the likes of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins to coming home to face the Red Sox, Twins (again), and Yankees.

That being said, if someone told you the Guardians would be 7-5 at this point of the stretch, even after a four-game losing streak, you’d certainly take it. A baseball season is all about perspective, and while the Red Sox series was deflating in its own right, the fact remains the Guardians are still playing good baseball at a pivotal point of the year.

And now is the time for the Guardians to re-center and remind themselves that they are still just two games out of first place, which can all be wiped away in a matter of a couple days. The Twins have won two in a row themselves, and are no doubt looking to avenge those heartbreaking losses from last week and put a little distance between themselves and Cleveland.

Looking ahead, Cleveland hits the road for the July 4th holiday, playing the Tigers next week before heading to Kansas City. Series against the White Sox and Tigers again then take the Guardians into the All-Star break. That’ll be an important stretch in its own right, as it presents Cleveland with the opportunity to put even more distance between them and the rest of the AL Central, particularly the White Sox, who continue to scuffle below .500.