CLEVELAND -- It was Aug. 24, when the Guardians wrapped up a nightmarish 1-5 road trip that knocked them under .500 for the first time in nearly a month. At 64-65 and losers of eight of nine games, it was fair to wonder whether the season was slipping away.
If the Guardians were going to go down, they were at least going to go down swinging.
“We're going to keep fighting every single day until we're either popping champagne or we're out of it,” manager Stephen Vogt said that day, after a 5-0 loss to the Rangers at Globe Life Field. “That's who we are. We're going to fight every single day.”
The champagne shower that took over the home clubhouse at Progressive Field on Saturday was the ultimate prize for a team that never gave in. The Guardians punched their ticket to the postseason for the second straight year and 18th time in franchise history, after C.J. Kayfus was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning, securing a walk-off, 3-2 win over the Rangers at Progressive Field.
A sellout crowd of 36,000 broke into celebration when Kayfus was struck on the right forearm by a four-seam fastball from Robert Garcia. Kayfus chucked his bat as Petey Halpin trotted home to score the go-ahead run.
And the Guardians may not be done; there could be another champagne shower on Sunday. With a win or a Tigers loss, Cleveland would clinch its second consecutive American League Central title. The Guardians won the season series, 8-5, over the Tigers, which serves as the first tiebreaker in the event of a tie.
“I know we're not done,” Vogt said. “We're not satisfied, but just to stop and think about where we came from to get here, there's no words. I couldn't be more proud of these guys, and they've earned every bit of this.”
It has been a stunning, if not improbable, run by a team whose season has been an emotional roller-coaster ride. The Guardians opened September 68-67 and were 11 games behind the Tigers in the American League Central, and four games back of the last Wild Card spot. Their playoff chances were just 4.8 percent, according to FanGraphs. They were under .500 as recently as Sept. 4 (69-70), making them the fifth team to reach the postseason after being under .500 that late in the season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, joining the the 2009 Twins (143 games), '08 Dodgers (139), '05 Padres (157) and 1973 Mets (153).
At one point, the Guardians lost 10 straight games (June 26-July 6) to fall eight games under .500 (40-48). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, they are just the fourth team in baseball history to make the postseason in a season in which they lost 10 straight games -- joining the 2017 Dodgers, 1982 Braves and 1951 New York Giants.
The Guardians went 23-9 from July 7-Aug. 14 to claw their way back in the race. A 1-9 stretch from Aug. 15-25 threatened to derail everything. They responded by winning 17 of 19 from Sept. 5 through Wednesday, as part of their 18-7 month, to punch their ticket.
“As we were making this run,” catcher Austin Hedges said, “I tried not to get ahead of myself and expect us to get into the playoffs, because it's so hard. But I knew in my heart that if we pulled this off and found a way into October, I don't think I could imagine being any prouder.”
The Guardians have stuck together through the highs and lows this season -- the latter of which have been plenty. Wins and losses aside, the clubhouse watched its ace, Shane Bieber, get traded before the July 31 Deadline. That same month, it watched Emmanuel Clase and starter Luis Ortiz go on non-disciplinary paid leave amid ongoing MLB investigations.
Even just this week, team leader David Fry was struck in the face by an offering by Tarik Skubal and suffered multiple facial and nasal fractures. Fry will likely miss the rest of the season; his jersey hung in the heart of the clubhouse during Saturday’s celebration.
The Guardians relied upon using their full roster to get to this point, and that made Saturday fitting. Johnathan Rodríguez was called up from Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday, when Fry went on the 10-day IL. He hit cleanup and went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer.
Rodríguez walked to lead off the ninth. Halpin (who made his MLB debut one week ago) pinch-ran and advanced to third on a bloop single by Kyle Manzardo. An intentional walk to Gabriel Arias set the table for Kayfus.
“I think it's been a theme of our season,” said Guardians team president Chris Antonetti. “You never know where that contribution is going to come from, and we need the entirety of the roster and the whole organization.”
And Vogt’s presence cannot be overstated. He did a stellar job in Year 1 as manager, when he replaced Terry Francona and guided the Guardians to a division title and later the ALCS. This year, he has been steady through the highs and lows. During the Guardians’ 10-game skid, Vogt was adamant that his team was capable of great things, sometimes to the chagrin of the fan base.
Behind him, Cleveland adopted and maintained a one-game-at-a-time mentality. They rode it all the way to the postseason.
It’s been an incredible ride that the Cleveland faithful will remember for years to come, and it isn’t over yet. But they’re going to enjoy this one. Hedges and Vogt broke out the celebration and shared an embrace in front of home plate.
“I love that guy,” Hedges said of Vogt. “That’s our leader. We’re not here without him. It's tough to put into words what he means to our group, because everybody means so much. But he's the guy doing it every day. And as proud as I am of our group, I am extremely proud of Stephen Vogt.”