So far, the Guardians‘ second half of the season has been a microcosm of the first.
There’s been a doubleheader.
A Josh Naylor go-ahead hit.
And silent stretches of offense lasting seven innings.
Oh, and it’s only been three games.
On Saturday, the Guardians faced off against the Chicago White Sox twice.
Game one featured the Naylor go-ahead in a 7-4 Guardians victory.
And game two featured eight innings of zero offense as the Guardians lost 4-5.
Rollercoaster
Josh Naylor’s go-ahead hit in the ninth inning of Game One wasn’t the only fireworks display on Saturday.
Game Two featured excitement of its own, despite little offense for much of the game.
The Guardians entered the seventh inning down 0-3.
But an Ernie Clement single and Myles Straw triple saw the Guardians back within striking distance.
Then, a Steven Kwan slapped his own RBI hit — tie ball game.
AND THEN — Amed Rosario went for his own RBI triple.
That’s right: the Guardians managed two triples in a single inning in a game that they went scoreless in for eight of the other innings.
Unfortunately, the Guardians coughed up the lead in the bottom of the eighth, as Nick Sandlin gave up two runs.
Between Naylor’s excellence and the rollercoaster of Game Two, fans were feeling it:
The #Guardians simply do all of the little things that the White Sox refuse to. With Cleveland the sum is greater than the parts, meanwhile Chicago is the opposite. #ForTheLand
— Jeff Stocker (@nocajstock) July 23, 2022
The @CleGuardians take the lead!@Amed_Rosario hits a 2-RBI triple to right field, as @skwanzaa hustles home from second to extend Cleveland's lead.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/53Mr1uca05
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) July 23, 2022
Putting Anthony Castro on the mound is equivalent to forfeiting the game #ForTheLand
— Red (@RedDeadRedHead) July 24, 2022
Josh Naylor, after driving in the go-ahead run #ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/JGhBEzJzRb
— DollarDog Nick (@DollarDogNick) July 23, 2022
DOWN, BUT NEVER OUT! 🚨🚨🚨
ERNIE AND STRAW GET US WITHIN 1! #Fortheland pic.twitter.com/8FS6sE5XN8
— 216 Baseball Podcast (@216BaseballPod) July 24, 2022
The Guardians to the White Sox pic.twitter.com/xHm4h8WsGi
— McNeil (@Reflog_18) July 24, 2022
Almost every day I think about how for marginally more money, we could have had Andrew Chafin in the bullpen the next 2 years instead of Shaw…
SIGH#Fortheland
— 216 Baseball Podcast (@216BaseballPod) July 24, 2022
Fortunately, between the win on Saturday and another on Friday, the Guardians were able to put another game of distance between themselves and the White Sox.
Cleveland is also two games out of first behind the Minnesota Twins.
Coming Up
The Guardians have one of their trickiest schedule bits coming up.
They’ll face off against the Boston Red Sox next in Fenway before hitting sunny Tampa Bay to take on the Rays.
Though the Red Sox have faded of late (including a 28-5 stinker against the Blue Jays), they still carry a 48-47 record, just worse than Cleveland’s 48-45.
The Guardians will be looking for revenge after an earlier meeting with the Red Sox.
Back in June, the Red Sox swept the Guardians, winning by a combined score of 18-8 over three games.
It was an early sign of the pre-All-Star Break skid that was to come for the Guardians.
In Tampa, the Guardians will have a significantly tougher challenge.
The Rays are perennially good, it feels.
Somehow, they find ways to ship off talented pitching (Blake Snell, Charlie Morton, Chris Archer) and still find top-tier replacements in their system (Tyler Glasnow, Shane McClanahan).
And over the last three seasons, the Rays haven’t finished worse than second in the crowded AL East.
And while no one can likely catch the New York Yankees, who sit an absurd 34 games over .500, the Rays are still a strong 52-42.
For comparison’s sake, there isn’t a single team in the AL East worse than .500.
In the AL Central, only two teams are better than .500 — the Guardians and Twins.
All of that to say, the Rays and Red Sox will be critical games and look significantly different than a typical division game.
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