April's Best for the Cleveland Guardians: More wins than losses against teams above .500
Much was made of the Cleveland Guardians' early season schedule, which included seven games against the Oakland Athletics and three against the hapless Chicago White Sox, resulting in many questioning the legitimacy of their impressive start. Yes, winning six of seven against Oakland and two of three may not be all that impressive, but the Guardians do own a winning record against teams over .500 this season.
Cleveland is 11-8 in matchups with teams with more wins than losses so far this season, with only four of those losses coming in series losses. The second piece of information there is very important, as it shows that three of Cleveland's losses against winning teams have come in series that the Guardians have won. Being able to limit losses against good teams is extremely important if a team wants to qualify for the postseason, and the Guardians have succeeded in that area so far.
There is one more thing thatshould be pointed out here regarding their seven games with the soon-to-be locationless Athletics. If the games played against Cleveland were to be removed from the equation, the A's would have a 13-11 record, showing that they are not necessarily the pushover they are painted out to be. That is not to say they are good, but perhaps the Guardians' wins are a bit more meaningful than people have made them out to be.