Playoff Implications In April? Guardians’ Series With Twins Carries More Weight

The Cleveland Guardians' games against the Minnesota Twins could have a major impact at the end of the season.

The Cleveland Guardians will play their ninth game of the 2024 MLB season on Saturday. It’s still very early in the year and a lot can and will happen over the next five months' worth of games. However, some series carry more weight whether they’re played at the beginning of April, the middle of June, or the end of September. 

Cleveland’s games against the Minnesota Twins fall right into the category. 

Is this a little bit dramatic to be talking about the potential postseason positioning considering Cleveland has yet to play a home game this season? Possibly. But Tanner Bibee seems to feel the same way.

“These games inherently mean the most,” said Bibee after Cleveland’s 4-2 victory over the Twins on Thursday. “[Winning] the division can decide whether we go to the playoffs or not. So, it’s important to win these games.”

That’s the mindset that a team looking to get back to the playoffs needs to have. Yes, you have to take each game one at a time. But you can’t forget about the bigger picture either. 

The 2023 season was the first time that every team played one another in a single year with the inclusion of more interleague play. This was made possible by subtracting the number of divisional games each team played to 52 games, 13 against each team.

Apr 4, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins catcher Christian Vazquez (8) tags out Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio (4) during the fifth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The American League Central could be one of the tightest divisions in all of baseball with no team presenting themselves as the clear favorite. Maybe it’ll be the Twins that repeat. Perhaps the Guardians find themselves back on top. The Detroit Tigers also might be the surprise team of the year and take the AL Central crown.

The primary tiebreaker in divisional seeding comes down to the winner of the season series which is why each game is so crucial.

But is one game really that important the first week in April? 

Well, the Guardians barely won the season series over Minnesota last year. Cleveland finished with a record of 7-6 against the Twins in 2023. It came down to one game. 

There’s no arguing that these games just mean more.