Guardians' sweep of Rockies bolsters their position in postseason race

DENVER -- With their 7-2 win over the Rockies at Coors Field on Sunday to complete a sweep of Colorado, the Guardians look dangerous.

Sure, they’ve got one of the lightest-hitting lineups in the Majors and are 65-66 after winning four in a row. But they’ve got pitching, their bats have awakened this month, and their remaining opponents this regular season combine for the second-lowest win percentage of any club’s remaining opponents (.463 entering Sunday).

Cleveland is also in a vastly better position in the standings now than it was on this date a year ago. With Sunday’s win, the Guards kept pace in both the American League Central standings (they’re 3 1/2 games behind the White Sox) and the AL Wild Card race (same record as the Rangers, who currently occupy the third Wild Card spot, though Texas owns the tiebreaker).

On this date in 2025, the Guardians found themselves 12 1/2 games behind the division-leading Tigers before pulling off one of the most improbable late-season surges in MLB history to win the AL Central on the final day of the regular season.

“I love the way we’re playing,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “Like I’ve been saying for a while, we just weren’t winning games. But I like the way we’re playing. The offense was tremendous these three days, and pitching continues to be great, and our defense has been really good as well.

“So we have to keep working. We have to keep our heads down.”

For the third straight game, a different hero stepped up for the Guards on Sunday. After Travis Bazzana delivered four hits and drove in three runs on Friday and Jo Adell launched a three-run homer in a two-hit performance on Saturday, Chase DeLauter took the lead in the series finale.

The 24-year-old rookie, who was briefly sidelined earlier in the week with left hamstring tightness, was Cleveland’s designated hitter and reached base four times with a single, two triples, a walk and two RBIs. Much like the Guardians’ lineup overall, DeLauter has been hot at the plate in August, reaching base in 16 of 17 games and batting .348 (23-for-66).

“It was a little slower start since coming back [from the injury],” DeLauter said. “But the guys have been mashing, especially the new guys and the bottom half of our order. … To come in there and put a little footnote was nice.”

“Footnote” is a bit of an understatement. And two triples?

“I don’t think [I’ve] ever [had two triples],” DeLauter said. “Not at any level. Not in the same game.”

Adell’s bat also remained hot -- he added a single, double and two RBIs. RBI singles from Angel Martínez and Nathaniel Lowe, and a Brayan Rocchio sacrifice fly, accounted for the rest of Cleveland’s scoring as the Guards outscored Colorado in the series 20-6.

Left-hander Foster Griffin made his fourth start for the Guardians since being acquired before the Trade Deadline. He labored, particularly in a 47-pitch second inning, but limited the damage to two runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out four over five innings.

Griffin gutted through a tough slog of an outing in the heat at the most hitter-friendly park in the Majors, and it saved a Cleveland bullpen that needed a breather.

One of the game’s best left-handed starters this year, Griffin has joined a rotation that features fellow southpaw Parker Messick, who has also been one of the elite starters of 2026 and helped the Guards make their incredible run down the stretch last year as a rookie.

With Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Joey Cantillo each giving Cleveland solid performances this season, that’s a rotation that could be formidable in October, particularly in a short playoff series.

Then there’s the bullpen, which has also been solid and yielded just one run over 11 1/3 innings this weekend.

There are 31 games to go. And the Guardians, helmed by two-time AL Manager of the Year Vogt, have a viable path for capturing their fourth postseason berth in five years.

Now, they just have to go and do it.

“A couple weeks ago, we weren’t playing our best ball,” DeLauter said. “I think, the last couple days especially, we’ve come out hot and put up runs early. … It’s just baseball -- ebbs and flows, ups and downs.

“… If we come in with a clear mentality, we’ll be in a good spot at the end of the year.”