Guardians punch postseason ticket in wacky (and historic) manner

At multiple points this year, it looked like the Cleveland Guardians were dead in the water. Not only did they trail the Tigers by 15 1/2 games in the American League Central, but they had two key players suspended as a part of a betting investigaion and had to call upon numerous unheralded players throughout the year.

And it's all going to end in a postseason berth.

On Saturday night, the Guardians beat the Rangers 3-2 thanks to a walk-off hit-by-pitch from C.J. Kayfus. With the win, the Guardians clinched a postseason berth.

The Guardians finalize improbale run to postseason with wacky hit by pitch

The play sums up this year's iteration of the Guardians in a way that words can't. After giving up an early lead and looking lost for most of the game, they put together an improbable two-out rally in the ninth inning thanks to a Johnathan Rodríguez walk, Kyle Manzardo single and intentional walk to Gabriel Arias.

That set the scene for Kayfus, who was plunked in the shoulder by an 0-1 fastball from Robert Garcia.

Prior to Kayfus' heroics, the Guardians lone runs came in the form of a two-run home run from Rodríguez, who was called up earlier this week after David Fry was hit in the face by Tarik Skubal.

He wasn't the only new face on the roster who contributed in Saturday's win. It starts with Kayfus, who become a top-100 prospect earlier in the season and has done nothing but contribute since being called up at the beginning of September. Halpin's time on the roster has been even shorter, as he made his major league debut last weekend in place of Nolan Jones.

Now all three of them will be a part of Guardians lore forever.

Although the Guardians have clinched a playoff spot, there are still some things that need to be decided — namely when and how they'll be playing.

If the Guardians win tomorrow, they'll win the American League Central for the second straight year and would host either the Red Sox or Tigers, depending on how things shake out tomorrow. If the Guardians lose and Detroit wins, the Tigers would win the Central and host the Guardians in the Wild Card round.

Cleveland's win also eliminated the Astros from the postseason hunt.

The Guardians aren't perfect by any means, but they're the hottest team in baseball and have navigated multiple losing streaks, controversies and injuries. They have one of the best players in baseball in José Ramírez, a strong starting pitching staff and a lineup filled with scrappy contributors who have helped fuel an improbable run.

The American League postseason picture may be loaded with star-studded teams, but the postseason is a crapshoot, as we found out last year.

This year may have featured more obstacles and frustrating moments than last year's coast to an AL Central crown, but they still made it into the dance.

At the end of the day, that's the most important thing.