How insane lack of White Sox's clutchness tilted AL Central in Guardians' favor

The Guardians have seen a lot in the past two seasons. In 2024, they cruised to a division title while navigating a bevy of pitching injuries. Last season they won the American League Central on the final day of the season after going on a wild September comeback. 

So even if this season has featured plenty of frustrating moments, there was a little bit of a “been there, done that” to it (it also didn’t hurt that the American League is a huge ball of ‘mid’ this year). 

Those chickens came to roast this season when the Guardians picked up a huge series win over the Twins in the same weekend the White Sox dropped a series to the St. Louis Cardinals that puts Cleveland just a 1/2 game behind the White Sox in the division going into the team’s series at Progressive Field this week. 

And part of the reason why the White Sox dropped that series to the Cardinals was a distinct lack of clutchness over the past two weeks. While they’ve gotten on base, they haven’t made the most of those opportunities, as they’ve gone 1-for-13 with four walks in 17 bases loaded appearances over their last 14 games. 

The White Sox have gone 4-10 in that stretch, which has helped the Guardians gain three games on them.

The White Sox's struggles have opened the door for the Guardians in the American League Central

Even if the White Sox’s resurgence is one of the best stories in baseball, they always seemed to be due for some regression given the youth on their roster. Sure, they have some veterans like Andrew Benintendi and Randal Grichuk, but they also have plenty of players who have already zoomed past their career-high for games played in a season. 

Saying the Guardians have been there before may be a simple answer to a season-long theme that’s been incredibly complex, but it’s hard to believe it hasn’t been a factor in Cleveland’s steady play over the month. 

They have a clubhouse full of players who have rode this ride over the past two seasons along with a manager who is a proven leader. 

All of that sets up this week’s series against the White Sox, which is Cleveland’s biggest series of the year along with being one of the biggest series between the two teams in a half decade. 

The Guardians built their pitching this week to have their best arms on the mound against the White Sox, but the White Sox will probably get runners on base at some point. 

But, as the past two weeks have shown, that doesn’t automatically mean they’re going to get those runners in. 

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