Commentary: Next stop for Guardians appears to be postseason

On the plus side for Detroit on Wednesday, no Tigers pitchers tried to throw a ball backwards, through their legs, to first base. For the Guardians, they beat the Tigers 5-1 to move one step closer to a division championship, which seemed impossible a month ago. Today the two teams will play their final game against each other this season, and it hardly matters. Even though the Tigers were in first place in the division for most of the season, the Guardians, as it turned out, were the better team. One of the great seasons in Cleveland franchise history is winding down, but only for a few days, because the Guardians are going back to the playoffs. That took some of the spice out of the Guardians-Tigers game at Progressive Field on Wednesday night. But not enough spice to prevent the home team from winning, and, in the process, moving one game closer to winning a division title. On the plus side for the Guardians, they won. Except, that it wasn't a story. Not even the part where Detroit's pitcher restrained himself from trying to throw a baseball backwards, between his legs to first base. Baseball can be a funny game, and the Guardians had all the laughs coming down the stretch. Last year it was the Tigers who came to Cleveland at the end of the season, and outplayed the home team, ending their season. This year, the Tigers, who led the AL Central for most of the season came back to Cleveland for a season finale, but it was the home team who sent Detroit home for the winter. The Guardians? They will enjoy the remaining few days of the regular season before returning to the cauldron that is playoff hardball, this time at the head of the class. Call it "The Quest of The Vogt Patrol." Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, who was the American League Manager of the Year last season, may have made it two-for-two this year. On April 22, the Guardians were alone in first place in the American League's Central Division. Then, for the next five months, the Guardians were not. Then, on Sept. 23, the Guardians, not the Tigers, were in first place. You can't make this stuff up. Especially if Cleveland is involved. But now you don't have to. Prior to the Guardians crashing the American League Central race, the Tigers had pitched a tent in first place. But then came September, and with it came the vaunted Vogt Patrol, which has its eye on some big-game hunting as well. The last time the Guardians were alone in first place was April 22. How does a team make up ground in a hurry? Well, you can try the Guardians' approach. In their last 19 games, the Guardians' starting pitchers did not give up more than two runs in a game. That's how you make the teams ahead of you nervous, which is what the Guardians have been doing to the Tigers for much of the second half of the season. In the last three months, for example, Cleveland has a winning percentage of .629. Cleveland's dramatic victory over the Tigers on Tuesday, followed by their best-in-show win Wednesday, were both dramatic, timely and refreshing. More specifically, Cleveland's victory was a huge one, not just for the team, but for Gavin Williams, the team's ace, who is pitching like, and winning like the kind of pitcher that can lead a pitching staff, particularly when it comes to those pressure cooker games late in the season, when every game is important. You know, like now. In his win over the Tigers, and the Tigers' ace, Tarik Skubel, Williams was masterful. He is clearly the Guardians' No. 1 starter, and as such will be counted on to take the ball whenever the Guardians face a formidable foe, and the ball needs to be taken. Indeed, this has been a major breakthrough year for the team and its young roster. The pitching staff, both starters and relievers, have been, as a group, sensational, dependable, still quite young and without their closer. Remember him? Good old what's his name? That bodes well for the coming seasons when the Guards will once again have to consistently lean heavily on their pitchers, given that there is no indication that ownership will green light the acquisition of a hitter or two capable of being a middle of the order bulldozer. In other words, the firm of Ramirez, Kwan and Manzardo will likely continue to be the heavy lifters when it comes to run production. The Guardians' 2025 season has been an exciting and exhilarating one, and it is still not over. Lucky us. Contact Jim Ingraham at (440) 329-7135 or jingraham4@gmail.com.