Guardians set to begin crucial 10-game home stand

The Cleveland Guardians have returned from their second road trip of the season ready to begin a 10-game home stand against what should be some pretty tough competition. With a 12-9 record thanks in part to going 4-2 against Baltimore and Pittsburgh, the Guardians are set to take on two competitors from the AL East and one who resides within the AL Central division.

ALCS Rematch with New York

First up is a rematch of last year's American League Championship Series with the New York Yankees. This should prove to be the toughest of their three opponents over the next week and a half, standing atop the AL East and the American League with a 14-8 record entering play on Monday.

This series may not have the same amount of juice to it as last season's playoff matchup, but you better believe the Guardians will be more than up to the task in this early-season series. It is going to be a test to see if Cleveland can score enough while hoping their pitching staff can limit the Yankees enough offensively to keep the games competitive. It will not be easy for the Guardians, but to say they do not have a chance against their visitors from New York would be an incorrect assessment of where these two teams stand at the present moment.

Boston comes to town

The second of three series at home will feature a three-game set with the Boston Red Sox. Currently sitting at 12-11, the Red Sox are in third place in the AL East and could very well be closer to the top by the time they come to Cleveland, depending on how each team's respective series that precedes this one plays out.

Even though Boston has scored the second-most runs in the American League behind the Yankees (104 for Boston, 126 for New York), the pitching staff of the Red Sox has left a lot to be desired up to this point. Only two teams in the American League have allowed more runs than Boston (111) this season, the Athletics (113) and Baltimore Orioles (118). This should provide enough of an opportunity for Cleveland in this series and could even give them a chance to win it if enough things happen to go their way.

An early chance to take down the Twins

Cleveland's third and final series of their 10-game home stand features a four-game set with division rival Minnesota. Unsurprisingly, the Twins have stumbled out of the gate once again, as the offseason hype machine surrounding their roster has predictably broken down early. Minnesota is 7-15 in their first 22 games and has lost seven of their last 10.

The two series that come before this one fall into the category of prefer to win. This one, on the other hand, is a must-win with an aim to sweep in four. Minnesota is not a good team by any means, and anything less than winning three of four against this AL Central basement dweller would be completely unacceptable.

Coming out of the other side of this homestand with a 6-4 record is the acceptable bare minimum for the Guardians here. Ideally, they go 7-3 or better, but accounting for at least one loss in every series with one game that is likely to go completely sideways for nothing other than the pure unpredictability of baseball brings us to four losses. This is a chance for the Guardians to show they can compete with two of the better teams in baseball while also keeping pace, if not overtaking the Detroit Tigers for the lead in the AL Central. Cleveland cannot waste an early-season opportunity like this one, and it will be interesting to see how the Guardians come out the other side of this lengthy early-season home stand.