CLEVELAND -- The Guardians’ record tells us this is as bad as things have been all season. Whether that’s a complete view of the state of things, it doesn’t feel good right now.
The Guardians began this week by making a flurry of roster upgrades before the Trade Deadline, which injected life into the clubhouse and fan base as we near the stretch run. Then they delivered one of their worst single-series performances this season.
The Guardians lost, 13-6, to the Mets at Progressive Field on Thursday, to suffer their third sweep of the season. It came at the hands of a New York team that conducted a Deadline selloff on Monday and entered the series 19 games under .500.
The Guardians (who were also swept by the Yankees on June 8-10 and Rays on July 24-26) fell to 57-59 on Thursday. It’s the first time Cleveland has been two games under .500 since the morning of Aug. 26 last season (64-66).
“We're looking for a bounce back. It’s no secret,” said first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who joined the Guardians on Monday via a trade with the Reds.
The Guardians went 24-8 after falling two games under .500 last August en route to clinching their second consecutive AL Central title. It’s unreasonable to expect historic comebacks to become routine each season, which makes what we’ve been watching all the more alarming.
The Guardians have lost five of their last six games and 11 of their last 14 games. They’ve gone 6-13 since the All-Star break. As Cleveland hit the road for a weekend series against the American League Central-leading White Sox (59-54), it was in danger of falling to a season-high four games out of first place, pending the outcome of Chicago’s game in Boston on Thursday night.
A few things can be true. There’s a chunk of the season remaining. The Guardians have time to right the ship. It also can get late fast, no matter what happened last year.
The Guardians were on the outside looking in at the American League postseason picture as they hit the road to Chicago.
“Obviously we wish we were in a different position record-wise going into the weekend, but we get three games with the people we're chasing,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “I think that's the way we're looking at it. They're obviously a really good team, and so are we.
“I think the guys are going to have a lot of excitement and a lot of energy going into tomorrow.”
Vogt acknowledged that it has felt for a while like the Guardians have not hit well when they have pitched well, and they have not pitched well when they have hit well. One consistency during this sweep was inconsistency.
On Tuesday, the Guardians lost, 6-2, while going 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position. They lost, 6-5, in 10 innings on Wednesday, while making three errors that allowed the Mets to score three unearned runs. That included Brayan Rocchio’s fielding error with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth. He did not cleanly field a ball up the middle and to his left, which allowed the tying run to score.
On Thursday, new Guardians starter Foster Griffin allowed five runs on seven hits (including two home runs) and two walks with six strikeouts over four innings. Fellow trade acquisition Craig Yoho surrendered a three-run homer in relief.
Slade Cecconi (whom the Guardians moved to the bullpen after Griffin’s arrival) faced five batters. He walked two, allowed three hits and was charged with four runs.
This series felt like a microcosm of the recent performance. Entering Thursday, the Guardians had committed 13 errors over their previous 13 games. They were batting .197 (25-for-127) with runners in scoring position.
“Obviously, we need to win some ballgames,” Vogt said. “We're kind of in it right now. We haven't played a complete game in a little while. For us, it's get back to making it happen. That's the bottom line.”
At minimum, the Guardians will be three games behind the White Sox in the Central on Friday. Cleveland is 3-4 against Chicago with six matchups remaining. This weekend is crucial toward securing the head-to-head season series, which serves as the first tiebreaker in the divisional race.
Despite how things have gone, Vogt noted the vibe is good around the Guardians. Trade acquisitions Lowe, Griffin and Jo Adell have energized the clubhouse. But urgency is also high.
“It's no secret. We know where we are in the race, but we just need to make it happen,” Vogt said. “We just need to go play better and win games.”