Guardians must put disastrous series against Arizona behind them

In a week where there was some pressure on the Cleveland Guardians to perform at a certain level, they were unable to rise up to the challenge. Cleveland was swept in a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, including a doubleheader sweep on Wednesday. As awful as this series of events was, the Guardians cannot dwell on what transpired and must put this series behind them.

It is very easy to be critical of how things played out for the Guardians against Arizona. From the pitching performances to the lineup construction, there were plenty of critiques to go around for how the entire situation was handled. As easy as it is to play the blame game and assign the losses on a select few, the reality is that is not how this works. These were collective losses by the ballclub, from the players to the managerial staff, nothing worked out in the manner anyone was hoping for, with faults coming from all areas of the team.

For those who want to overanalyze and break down each individual moment of why this series did not play out in Cleveland's favor, have at it. The Guardians are very much aware that they did not play up to expectations and should have performed much better in this series. The harsh reality is that they matched up with an Arizona team that has been playing their best baseball as of late while the Guardians are still trying to find their footing after the All-Star Break.

Sure, the series win against the Phillies and split against Baltimore were impressive, but this team cannot afford to live in the past. That includes this recent sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks. The time is now for the Guardians to put their previous successes and failures behind them and look ahead to what's next. A very crucial series against the Minnesota Twins.