CLEVELAND -- This is not how it was supposed to go for the Guardians. This was supposed to be different. This lineup was supposed to be different.
Yet here we are: The Guardians’ offense has been all but silenced in the postseason, and Cleveland’s season is now on the brink.
The Guardians lost, 4-3, to the White Sox in Game 2 of the AL Division Series at Progressive Field on Monday, despite a strong start by right-hander Gavin Williams, to fall into a 2-0 hole in the best-of-five series. Cleveland faces elimination in Game 3 on Wednesday at Rate Field.
“You don't want to be in this position,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “I am not going to sugarcoat it. We've backed ourselves into a corner. We know that.”
History has not favored the path ahead for teams in the Guardians’ predicament. In all best-of-five postseason series, teams with a 2-0 lead have gone on to win the series 83 of 93 times (89%). Those that have won the first two games on the road in Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format have gone on to win the series 17 of 19 times (also 89%).
The last team that rallied from a 2-0 hole is one that those in Northeast Ohio remember well: The Yankees dropped the first two games of the 2017 ALDS in Cleveland. The last team to rally after dropping the first two games at home was the Blue Jays, in the 2015 ALDS against the Rangers.
“We’ve got to go out and win a ballgame. There's no other way around it,” outfielder Jo Adell said. “We’ve got to win every game we play, and we're capable of that.”
Yes, Cleveland could make a magical run over the rest of this series. That’s the only path forward now. But ask yourself: Has the Guardians' offense inspired any confidence that they can save their season?
Cleveland ranked eighth in runs scored (232) after Aug. 3, when it added Adell and Lowe to a mix featuring Steven Kwan and José Ramírez, and up-and-comers Travis Bazzana, Chase DeLauter, Brayan Rocchio and Angel Martínez. It helped the club chase down the White Sox to win a third consecutive AL Central title.
But the past two games have looked much more like the struggles that permeated the lineup for long stretches this season and contributed to Cleveland finishing 24th in MLB in runs per game (4.19).
The Guardians have scored three runs on seven hits and eight walks in 18 innings this series. They are 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and have left 12 men on base. Chicago’s unorthodox pitching plan -- using an opener before turning to a bulk pitcher/starter -- has had Cleveland in a blender.
Consider how Monday played out. The Guardians loaded the bases against opener Anthony Kay with one out in the first inning on a Kwan leadoff single, a Ramírez walk and an intentional walk to Adell. They scored two runs: Nathaniel Lowe hit a chopper back to the mound, and pitcher Sean Newcomb fired an awful throw past first baseman Munetaka Murakami.
Sean Burke later entered and allowed just one run on one hit and one walk in 5 1/3 innings.
“The name of the game is who lands a pitch,” Adell said. “When they made mistakes, we just weren't able to capitalize maybe in the way we wanted to.”
The Guardians went 6-7 against the White Sox in the regular season and were outscored by a single run, 58-57. Kwan noted that these first two games have been reminiscent of their regular-season matchups, including how the Guardians have been behind the eight-ball at times.
“But then we had the big, magical moment,” Kwan said. “I feel like we're following that script. We’ve just got to get that big hit again.”
They’ve got to start by getting one hit, and then another. Burke retired 13 batters at one point Monday before DeLauter tagged him for a two-out single in the eighth. That ended the right-hander’s outing, and Adell followed with an RBI triple off Grant Taylor, which deflected high off the 19-foot wall in left field.
Adell thought he hit it well enough for a game-tying two-run homer. It gave the Guards some life -- it marked the first time in the series that they tallied back-to-back hits -- though Lowe followed by flying out to the left-field warning track.
Maybe that mini rally will be something to build on in Game 3. If it isn’t, Cleveland might soon be heading home for the winter.
“We’re not going to sulk,” Vogt said. “We are going to come ready to play on Wednesday. We know what's ahead of us. We have to win three in a row, but that starts one at a time on Wednesday."