MINNEAPOLIS -- Down the road this season, we may look back at this point of the Guardians’ season to remember how they persevered and came out on the other side. But there’s no question that the vibe feels off right now.
“There is no glory without sucking and suffering and overcoming things,” Guardians catcher Austin Hedges said. “We're being tested right now while maintaining being right where we want to be, which is near the top of the division with a chance to make the playoffs, trying to win a World Series.”
The Guardians, after their 6-5 walk-off loss to the Twins at Target Field on Wednesday, do sit just one game behind the first-place White Sox in the AL Central standings. But this division has become more than a two-team race while Cleveland continues to sputter through an extended tough stretch ahead of the All-Star break.
Behind the White Sox (47-44) and Guardians (47-46) sit the Twins (46-47, two games out of first place) and the Tigers (42-50, 5 1/2 games). Cleveland is 8-13 since June 16, after key lineup contributors José Ramírez and Angel Martínez went on the injured list. Going further back, the Guardians are 13-19 since the start of June.
The standings only grew tighter after a frustrating loss on Wednesday, which included the Guardians walking in three runs for the first time since July 31, 1998, against the A’s. They had to use seven of their eight relievers after starter Slade Cecconi lasted just 3 2/3 innings.
Cleveland still gave itself a shot, before Minnesota’s Alan Roden ended the game with a walk-off single off Matt Festa in the bottom of the ninth.
“You never want to lose, but losing that way really hurts,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.
This stretch has been defined by the Guardians playing tight games seemingly every night. Since June, 23 of their 32 games have been decided by one or two runs. Offense being hard to come by has been a recurring theme, but the pitching loomed large on Wednesday.
The Guardians took a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth, when Brayan Rocchio and Rhys Hoskins hit back-to-back home runs. It was the first time Cleveland pulled off that feat this season.
Minnesota immediately tied things up in the bottom half, when Cecconi (who faced one batter over the minimum through three scoreless innings) allowed three singles, a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly. The Twins had the go-ahead run on third base with two outs when Vogt pulled the plug.
“It stinks, man,” Cecconi said. “It stinks to have an inning like that, especially after the first three went the way they did. It felt like I was executing really well, on a roll, and just got stopped in my tracks.”
Cecconi’s early exit would loom large later because the Guardians’ bullpen faced a long night. Colin Holderman threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings, and Tim Herrin followed. But the lefty faced just two batters (retiring them both) before he exited after taking a Royce Lewis comebacker off his pitching elbow.
The seventh inning was an agonizing slow burn for the Guardians. Shawn Armstrong (who took over for Herrin and completed the sixth) issued consecutive walks to begin the seventh. Erik Sabrowski entered in his place and did not record an out.
Sabrowski threw 11 straight balls after taking the mound and issued three walks -- two with the bases loaded.
“We had to go there a little earlier than we wanted to,” Vogt said. “I thought Holdy did a great job. It just seemed like we lost the strike zone there [in the seventh].”
Sabrowski’s struggles prompted Hunter Gaddis to enter in the seventh. He got through the inning, but allowed a single and a double to open the eighth. With the game hanging in the balance, Vogt pushed his chips in the middle and brought in closer Cade Smith. He got out of the jam unscathed.
The Guardians seemed poised to send things to extra innings. Alex Jackson reached on a two-out fielder's choice off Matt Festa. Travis Bazzana could not come up with a grounder that had some English on it and hooked away from him. Festa allowed a base hit and a walk before Roden ended the game.
“We didn't expect to win 110 games and ease our way into the playoffs,” Hedges said. “We knew it was going to be a grind. Now we're experiencing what we knew was going to happen, and we're just going to work really hard to overcome it. That's all we know how to do. We know how to bring energy every day. We know how to work.”