Jose Ramirez's quote after Guardians' sweep of Tigers makes goal extremely clear

It seems like everything has gone right for the Cleveland Guardians as of late. While they’ve had two big losing streaks this year and lost two key contributors to a gambling scandal, they’ve found a new gear as of late and now sit just 3 1/2 games back in the American League Central after a huge sweep of the Detroit Tigers this week. 

And even if the Guardians still need to do some work over the next week-plus to take home the division crown, superstar José Ramírez (who slugged the go-ahead home run against the Tigers on Thursday) made his intentions for the rest of the season clear in his postgame interview with Andre Knott. 

“We came here with the idea not to lose any more games and obviously, god willing, we’re going to continue trying to do our best,” he said through team interpreter Agustin Rivero. 

José Ramírez puts Tigers on notice with postgame comments after sweep

While it shouldn’t be a surprise that Ramírez said that on the record (what else was he going to say?), it's still a great sign to see him speak on the record about the team's chances in the division.

For most of the season the division race seemed like it had already been decided thanks to the Guardians aforementioned swoons, but they’ve worked their way back into the picture over the past months and officially announced their intentions with that three-game sweep of the Tigers at Comerica Park. 

Unsurprisingly, Ramirez has led the way this month, as he’s mashed three home runs in September (which is tied for the team-high in the month) with five doubles, a triple, 12 RBI and 12 runs scored. 

He’s also gotten some help from other players on the roster, as C.J. Kayfus leads the team with a .323 average in September, while Kyle Manzardo and David Fry have both posted slugging percentages over .500. 

Although everyone has stepped up on the pitching side, Tanner Bibee has gotten back to looking like an ace. He tossed a two-hit shutout against the White Sox last weekend, and matched Tarik Skubal pitch-for-pitch on Thursday before Ramirez's heroics. 

The Guardians may not have a lineup that shakes fear into opposing teams, but they’re beginning to click at the right time, and are playing with a confidence and swagger that’s been missing for most of the season. 

But, as Ramirez mentioned, they still don’t have a ton of room for error. They’re still trailing in the race for the American League Central and the Wild Card, so every game needs to be a must-win from here on out.

The Mariners and Astros are tied atop the American League West and are about to play in a huge three-game series, which means that one of them will lose two games over the weekend. If the Guardians take three-out-of-four from the Twins over the weekend, they’ll be in great shape in the Wild Card ahead of a crucial three-game home series against the Tigers. 

Imagine telling someone that at the beginning of August.