How the Cleveland Guardians Ended August the Same Way It Began

The Cleveland Guardians are in a similar spot to where the team was when the month of August began.

Aug 30, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Jo Adell (7) celebrates with right fielder Chase DeLauter (24) after the Guardians beat the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cleveland Guardians are off Monday as the month of August comes to an end. That makes it a great time to look at where the team is now versus when the month began.

For the Guardians, things stayed rather level throughout August.

Guardians need to pull away from .500 mark as September begins

The Guardians began the month of August with a 12-8 loss against the Arizona Diamondbacks to drop to 56-56 on the year. They ended the month with an 11-1 win over the Kansas City Royals to reach 69-68. They managed to get just above .500, which was thanks in large part to a recent seven-game winning streak.

The difference now is that the team enters the month of September holding the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League. The Baltimore Orioles enter Monday one game back, while the Toronto Blue Jays are 1.5 back.

So who do the Guardians open the month against? That would be the Blue Jays in a three-game series in Cleveland. The Guardians have a chance to basically bury Toronto in the playoff race. However, they can also let the Blue Jays right back in. This is also true when Cleveland heads to Baltimore next week for three games with the Orioles.

There is also the division race to consider, as the Guardians are 3.5 games back before the Chicago White Sox play the Houston Astros on Monday. A three-game series is on the schedule for September 14-16 in Cleveland and that short stretch of time could ultimately determine whether the Guardians are still chasing the division or if their only shot is the Wild Card route.

The 2025 version of the Guardians had a historic comeback in the division and shocked the MLB world. Can the 2026 version do the same? It seems less likely given how the season has gone, but anyone with optimism will point to last year as an example of not giving up early.

Hosey is back.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/Oyn4fUkzIw

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) August 30, 2026

Jose Ramirez has started to heat up after his season seemed like a disaster, Steven Kwan is up to a .275 average, and Jo Adell and Nathaniel Lowe provide some much-needed power to this lineup. The lineup also features three rookies in Chase DeLauter, Travis Bazzana, and Angel Genao who could truly take off at any time.

The Guardians are in a familiar position and have surprised us all many times in recent Septembers. Making the postseason in 2026 after the way the season began would prove this team can simply not be counted out until the final out in Game 162.