Guardians have winning record for first time since mid-April

It has been a season of underperformance for the Cleveland Guardians as they have had a losing record for much longer than anyone would like. There have been a few times when Cleveland has managed to get back to .500, only to see their chance at having a winning record escape their grasp. That changed after Saturday's 10-7 victory against Kansas City. For the first time since April 19 the Cleveland Guardians have a winning record at 45-44 on the year.

The Guardians have gone 69 games either at or below .500, mostly below. Cleveland has gone through some low points during this span, being seven games under multiple times. Even when it appeared that this team was going to just fade away and become a non-factor in the division, they were able to battle back time and time again.

Dating back to the last time the Guardians were seven games below they have gone 20-12. This includes the final two games of their four-game split with Minnesota in addition to winning series against Boston, Houston, Oakland, Kansas City (twice), and the Chicago Cubs. There were a few stumbles along the way, losing to San Diego, Arizona, Milwaukee, and Atlanta.

While they have mostly won against teams of lesser talent, it is not surprise that three of their four series losses come against some of the better teams in baseball. In fact, two are division leaders (Diamondbacks and Braves) while the other (Brewers) is in second place. Ideally they will be able to start being more competitive and winning against these teams if they are going to make the postseason.

There is still a ways to go this season and the Guardians will have to maintain their improved play. Cleveland is now in first place in the American League Central division and it is now up to them to hold off the second place Minnesota Twins. This Guardians squad is certainly good enough to win the division again, they just have to keep playing at the level that everyone knows that they are capable of.