Guardians have unexpected AL Central challenge with surprising White Sox turnaround

For the better part of the past decade, the Cleveland Guardians have made a habit out of beating the Chicago White Sox. In fact, the Guardians have gone 45-32 against the White Sox  since the start of the 2021 season. 

And while that time period corresponds with a ton of winning for the Guardians as a team, it has also corresponded with a lot of losing from the White Sox. 

In that time period, the White Sox have gone through three managers, two roster cores and a variety of washed up prospects. But it seems like that worm is starting to turn, as the White Sox entered play today with a record of 24-22 after walking off the Cubs on Sunday. 

That record marks the first time the White Sox are two games over .500 since September 2022. The Guardians have won three division titles since then and transitioned from a Hall of Famer manager to a two-time winner of the AL Manager of the Year award. 

Perhaps the biggest reason for the White Sox’s turnaround this season is Japanese import Munetaka Murakami, who signed a two-year, $34 million with the White Sox in the offseason after his market fizzled out in the offseason. 

But that deal has aged incredibly well, as he’s tied for the MLB lead with 17 home runs and just racked up a multi-homer game against the cross-town rival Cubs. 

The Chicago White Sox look like an actual baseball team this year

But it hasn’t just been a one-man show on the south side of Chicago. Starting pitcher Davis Martin has posted a 1.61 ERA in 56 innings while posting an AL-leading 3.1 bWAR, Miguel Vargas has arguably been the most productive third baseman in baseball and Colson Montgomery has shaken off his strikeout problems to author yet another strong season. 

They’re not a perfect team and are still likely a piece or two away from being a true contender, but they’re not on the same level they’ve been at years prior when games against them felt like easy wins. 

While the Guardians aren’t going to face off against the White Sox until the end of June, it’s an important time to check in on the state of the American League Central. 

The Guardians are about to begin their first series of the year against the Tigers, who are 5 1/2 games behind the Guardians in the AL Central and have struggled without Tarik Skubal. 

And although the Guardians are in first place in the American League Central, they dropped two winnable games against the Minnesota Twins at the beginning of May and can sometimes play down to their opponents level. 

They can’t afford to do that when they play the White Sox, and Chicago’s series win over the Cubs shows why the Guardians are going to need to prepare for the White Sox. 

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