Guardians have opportunity to get back on track in upcoming series in Chicago

The Cleveland Guardians are coming off a tough series in Los Angeles, dropping the final two games to the Dodgers after winning the first contest on Friday. The result in the series was disappointing, considering they had two chances to win and were unable to do so. Right now, they are in need of a series win if they are going to continue their run to the postseason and could use an inferior opponent to do so. Enter the Chicago White Sox.

Cleveland is set to square off with the White Sox for a three-game series in Chicago starting on Monday night. These two teams could not be further apart on the competitiveness scale, as Cleveland leads the American League Central division with an 81-62 record while Chicago's 33-111 is in dead last, and they may, in fact, be one of, if not, the worst team of all-time, at least in the modern era. This is exactly the type of matchup the Guardians want at this time, a chance to not only win this series but potentially sweep the baseball's least competitive team.

This three-game set in Chicago should provide a nice rebound opportunity for the Guardians, a chance to reset as well as restabilize their team for the stretch run. Matchups like this one with Chicago are something Cleveland cannot squander. The White Sox have proven to be incapable of being a competitive baseball team this season, and their -302 run differential entering this series is a clear indicator of exactly that.

The bare minimum acceptable requirement for the Guardians in this series is to win, with a sweep being something they strive to accomplish. Cleveland must take advantage of what should be a relatively easy series to win while they can. Being able to take care of business against the White Sox should increase their lead in the AL Central while getting them closer to clinching a playoff spot. Anything less than a series win here would be considered a catastrophic failure and that is not what this ballclub needs at this time.