AL Central standings: Guardians thinking bigger after massive win over Tigers

For the past month, it looked like the Guardians’ best path to make the postseason would come via the Wild Card thanks to the Detroit Tigers’ double-digit lead in the American League Central. 

But that lead has shrunk down to double-digits thanks to some strong play from the Guardians lately, and after their 7-5 win on Tuesday, shrunk Detroit’s lead in the division down to just 5 1/2 games. 

And, with five of the Guardians’ next 12 games coming against the Tigers, the Guardians have a clear path to winning the American League Central. 

The Guardians have a clear path to win the American League Central 

While the Guardians path toward a Wild Card spot has kind of plateaued (they haven’t gained any ground despite winning five in a row), they’ve slowly been creeping closer in the division standings. 

The Guardians will have another chance to gain some ground on the Tigers tonight in the second game of their three-game series at Comerica Park. Tanner Bibee will be on the mound for the Guardians while Jack Flaherty will get the start for the Tigers. 

The good news for the Guardians is that there’s still a way for them to make it in the Wild Card even if they’ve failed to grab any ground lately. 

The Astros now hold the final Wild Card spot thanks to a late-season swoon combined with a surge from the Mariners, and Houston has one more game remaining in their series against the Rangers (first pitch is at 8:10 p.m. EDT). After that, the Astros will travel to Seattle to take on the Mariners in a three-game series that could decide the American League West. 

The Guardians will want the Mariners to feast in those games, as the Guardians hold the tiebreaker over the Astros but don’t hold it over the Mariners, so they’d have a bit of an easier path to the postseason if they’re competing against Houston. 

Meanwhile, the Tigers will welcome the Atlanta Braves (who swept the Guardians last month) to Comerica before traveling to Cleveland for a three-game series against the Guardians next week. Depending on how the final two games of this week’s series go (and how the Guardians do against the Twins this weekend), that series could end up deciding the American League Central. 

The Guardians have pushed their way into the thick of the postseason thanks to some great pitching and *just enough* hitting, but they flipped that script a bit last night thanks to an offensive explosion in extra innings. 

The Guardians have done a great job focusing on the task at hand over the past month and not letting the moment get the most of them. They’ll need to keep that up if they want to keep creeping up to Detroit in the AL Central standings.