How worried should we be about the Guardians’ recent stretch of play? 

The best part about the Guardians being in the postseason race in August is that every game means a little more, which is something you don’t always get in baseball’s 162 game season. It can also end up being the worst part. 

While that trend makes every win mean a little more to the team and the fanbase, it also means that every loss stings a little more. And there’s been a lot more losses than wins recently. 

After working their way back into the postseason picture with a strong run of play after the trade deadline, the Guardians entered the weekend having gone 1-5 over their last six games, which has wiped away all the momentum (and ground gained) during their hot streak. 

And, according to MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince, that whiplash-inducing string of play should concern Guardians’ fans.  

How worried should we be about the Guardians’ recent stretch of play? 

As Castrovince points out in his article, the Guardians’ took advantage of their soft schedule and were able to get within a half-game of the Yankees in the Wild Card chase along with cutting the Tigers’ lead in the division to five games. But that all seems like a distant memory now after their swoon over the past two series. 

“Then came the past two series, in which the Guards were swept at home by a sub-.500 Braves squad and then dropped two of three to the sub-.500 D-backs. Cleveland’s playoff odds, per FanGraphs, dropped from 29.9% on Friday to 15.9% going into Wednesday. Things can ebb and flow quickly this time of year, but the Yankees have the softest schedule in MLB the rest of the way, and the Guardians, with no shortage of offensive issues, have spent the bulk of the season looking little like the club that pestered its way to the ALCS last season. It feels like it could be a wasted year of José Ramírez’s prime,” Castrovince wrote.

The biggest thing working in the Guardians’ favor is the clear ability they have to make up ground. They have series remaining against the Royals (who are now ahead of them in the standings), Red Sox and along with two series against the Tigers.

Sure, all of those teams are above .500, but they’re also ahead of the Guardians in the postseason picture. If they want to make the postseason, they’ll have to beat the best. It’s that simple.

They also have series remaining against the Rangers, Twins, Rays and White Sox which will provide them with a brief reprieve from having to take on postseason teams. 

The Guardians may not have a ton of room for error thanks to their recent struggles, but they still have a path toward the postseason in front of them. It’s just on them to capitalize on it.