Guardians finally stop series losing streak

It was a long time coming, but the Cleveland Guardians finally broke their series losing streak. Matching up with the Minnesota Twins appeared to be just what the Guardians needed as they were able to end what has been a rather ugly few weeks.

At first it seemed like Cleveland was going to continue their losing ways, with the Guardians being unable to score in the series opener. Even the 5.2 perfect innings from Peyton Battenfield was not enough as the Guardians were not able to get on the board. Two mistake pitches from Battenfield was the difference in the contest as Cleveland lost their fourth series opener in their last six chances.

Saturday's contest appeared to be following a familar pattern for the Guardians this season. After establishing an early lead, Cleveland saw that lead disappear with the Twins putting the pressure on like many have before. Luckily Steven Kwan came to the rescue to prevent a series loss by the second contest and managed to avoid having to fight off a sweep on Sunday.

The series finale on Sunday followed a similar pattern to Friday's game with Battenfield on the mound, but this time Cleveland managed to score in the 1st with Cal Quantrill dealing. Quantrill's best outing of the season saw him limit the Twins to just one hit in 7 innings while walking three. The Guardians bullpen locked down the final two innings and Cleveland won their first series in nearly a month.

This was the first series win for the Guardians since mid-April.

Between April 18th and May 3rd the Guardians were not playing well, losing five consecutive series against a mixed group of opponents. Cleveland had to fight off sweeps from the likes of Detroit, Miami, and Colorado. The Guardians were able to get off on the right foot against Boston and New York, but Cleveland would drop the next two games in these series and end up losing thier fourth and fifth straight respectively.

It has been an underwhelming season that has seen plenty of players underperform, the series losing streak is clear evidence of that. The streak has now ended and the Guardians now have a set of games ahead of them that should be winnable as they will host the Tigers and Angels before going on the road to take on the White Sox and Mets. Chicago will then make a trip to Cleveland with St. Louis following right behind them.

If Cleveland can find a way to win the majority of these series they would be in a much better spot standings wise than where they are currently. If not, the Guardians may be forced to make some long term roster decisions that would be quite unpopular.