With seven games remaining, the Cleveland Guardians currently have a spot in the MLB Playoffs

The Guardians are perhaps on the doorstep of completing a truly unique Cleveland comeback story. On August 25th, they were dead in the water, having their playoff chances drop to below 5%. At 66-66 they were 5 games back from a Wild Card spot and 11.5 games clear of front running Detroit.

A once promising season had suddenly become inconsistent at best, and embarrassingly bad at worst. And, as things tend to do in Cleveland when the fall wind starts to come in, and the leaves begin to change colors, attention shifts to the one true needle mover...the Browns.

To be fair, making up five games in a Wild Card race in a month of baseball games is an incredibly difficult task, especially when you are circling around .500 for the first five months of the season. The thought of making up 11.5 games to maybe win the division? Impossible, those king of collapses simply don't happen.

And yet seemingly with a sprinkle of fairy dust here we are, nearly a full month later and the Guardians are tied for the final wild card spot and just one, single game behind Detroit for another AL Central title.

The Cleveland Guardians are officially tied for a Wild Card spot. #GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/qmxTNyfrJw
— BIGPLAY (@BIGPLAY) September 21, 2025

Not to be hyperbolic, but this could be perhaps the best September run in recent memory, the Guardians have won 10 straight games and have gone 20-5 since August 25th. That is .800 baseball for a month. Incredibly hard to do across any month, at any level of baseball, let alone when the lights are the brightest and the pressure is the most intense in September.

The pitching staff has been otherworldly, the offense finally looks competent and somehow, it has become must-watch television every single night. It has been said repeatedly since Stephen Vogt took over managing duties, but in no iteration has it been more clear, this team has adopted the identity of their manager. Nothing flashy, not any prototypical stars (except for Jose Ramirez), but just good solid "Guards Ball."

Show up to the ballpark everyday, pitch well, run the bases, play fundamental defense and find a way to win ball games.

Now, the job is not yet finished, and the team cannot rest on their laurels quite yet. However, this coming Tuesday through Thursday when Detroit comes to town, the corner of Carnegie and Ontario will have a little special energy.

For the Tigers players and fans, who have led the division from essentially start to finish, there has to be a bit of an objects in the mirror are closer than they appear feeling.

Sunday will prove to be a crucial day in making the Guardians feel more secure in their playoff chances. The Guardians hold the tie breaker over the Houston Astros and thus if the season ended today, would be in as the final wild card team.

The recipe is easy, handle your own business and win and then root like hell for the Seattle Mariners to beat the Astros. That would give Cleveland a one game lead over Houston and a little bit of cushion in the Wild Card.

If Cleveland could win at least one game against the Tigers they would hold the tie-breaker over Detroit and would feel very strong about their playoff possibilities... sounds easy enough right?