Guardians Are Suddenly Right Back in the AL Central Race

The Guardians have steadied the ship and enter a pivotal series one .5 game back of the White Sox

Sep 13, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Angel Genao (17) and second baseman Travis Bazzana (37) and first baseman Nate Lowe (46) celebrate the win over the Minnesota Twins after the game at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Major League Baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint and the Cleveland Guardians are gaining steam with the finish line in sight. The Guardians piled on the Minnesota Twins on Sunday to take the series, while the first-place Chicago White Sox lost their series to the St. Louis Cardinals, tightening the separation to only a half of game. 

The Guardians enter their last 12 games of the regular season with the same amount of wins and one more loss than the White Sox. Hope for a division title was fading only a month ago as their offense was sputtering while not being able to win a series. Guys were getting on base, but no one could pop the expanding balloon filling with pressure. 

The newly acquired players at the deadline settled in and started to hit the ball out of the park. Rookie Angel Genao was promoted and sparked some energy into the lineup with Stephen Vogt stating, “his poise has been unbelievable”. Stephen Kwan is swinging like he is hitting beach balls and the pitching staff has been steady. Travis Bazzana is showing some power and all of a sudden, the season may come down to this week’s series in Cleveland against the White Sox. 

The Guardians can be in first place by the end of the week as they begin their three-game series. Two of the Guardians’ best pitchers will throw in the book end games of the series. Gavin Williams toes the rubber tonight to try and overtake the White Sox’s division lead. If so, then it will be Foster Griffin and Parker Messick to build on the lead. The White Sox come limping into Cleveland winning just three of their last 10. 

The White Sox are 6-4 against the Guardians this season, meaning the Guardians would have to sweep them in order to earn the tiebreaker. Should the Guardians trip up in the series, then they can try to make up ground in the following series against the last-place Oakland Athletics. The season ends in Kansas City on September 27th. The White Sox also have a favorable schedule after the Cleveland series, so it is imperative the Guardians take at least two of three. 

They need to off the home crowd, rather than buckling as they are only 36-39 at home. The White Sox also struggle away from their home park, going 33-42. The pivotal series begins tonight at Progressive Field when Williams takes the mound.

The Guardians sit in the last wild card spot by one game, but now is not the time to settle. They have scraped, scratched, and clawed their way to within one half game of the division with the White Sox coming into town. The rotation was manipulated to be at their best for this series and the Guardians find themselves in an advantageous position to see themselves atop the division for the first time since early in the season. If the Guardians can control the moment and take the series, then this division will belong to Cleveland.