Guardians officially re-enter postseason picture with strong win over Angels 

Another day, another win for the Cleveland Guardians. Sure, Monday’s win came against another bad team (this time the Angels were the victim), but they can’t control who they play; they can only play the team that’s in front of them. 

And they did their job with a 4-1 win that gave them sole control over the American League’s final Wild Card spot while also pushing them a bit closer to the White Sox in the American League Central. 

The Guardians officially own a postseason spot

Monday’s win was a good summation of where the Guardians are at right now, as they got contributions from their new guys (Jo Adell and Nathaniel Lowe both drove in runs), a strong start from a rookie who looks like an ace (Parker Messick) and an opposite field home run from a player who isn’t known for his offense (Austin Hedges). 

In other words, it was the kind of effort the Guardians weren’t putting together at the start of the second half.

Even if Cleveland’s recent hot streak has come against three teams who are circling the drain, sometimes teams can run into problems by playing down to their opposition's level.

The Guardians have done the exact opposite, and it’s helped them nail down an elusive postseason spot (for now). 

Lowe got things started early in the third inning with a bases loaded sacrifice fly before Adell broke another tie in the fifth inning with an RBI single up the middle against his former team (the two of them have now combined for 29 RBI since joining Cleveland). 

That backed up yet another great start from Messick, who now has allowed two runs or less in nine straight starts. Although he only had four strikeouts, he was able to generate seven strikeouts with his changeup, which clearly seemed to have Angels hitters off balance. 

Hedges delivered the final blow in the sixth inning with that opposite field home run off a Blake Weiman slider that was over the middle of the plate.

Even if it only would have been a home run in 10 ballparks, it was still another great swing from Hedges in what’s been a productive season for him. 

He now has tied his home run total from last season (five), and cleared the 20 RBI plateau for the first time since 2022. 

While any win is good this time of year, Cleveland’s victory over the Angels came on a day when the White Sox suffered a huge loss to the Rangers and the Astros were idle. 

Those results pushed the Guardians into the final Wild Card spot while getting Cleveland a step closer to the White Sox in the AL Central. 

A week ago it seemed like the sky was falling on the Guardians. Now they’re holding onto a postseason spot with five more extremely winnable games coming down the pipe. 

Baseball can be a funny game sometimes. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow