One year after their historic comeback to win the AL Central, the Guardians know better than anyone that the baseball season is a marathon full of twists and turns.
Maybe this one didn’t require a late-summer surge for the record books, but another memorable finish has sent the Guardians back to the postseason.
On Thursday, the Guardians clinched their third consecutive postseason berth and the 19th in franchise history, with an 1-0 win over the Red Sox to set off a celebration at Fenway Park.
“It’s three years in a row that our fans get to watch playoff baseball,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “This is why we play. We play for our fans. We play to give them an October to remember … we’re really proud that we get to do it again.”
This may only be the first celebration, too. The Guardians (83-76) have a one-game lead over the White Sox (82-77) in the AL Central. Cleveland is closing in on a third consecutive division title, which would come with a first-round bye.
The Guardians must finish with a better record than the White Sox to win the Central, because Chicago holds the tiebreaker after winning the head-to-head season series. Cleveland’s final three games are on the road against Kansas City, while the South Siders will host Colorado.
There’s a lot left to play for this weekend. For now, this is a moment worth celebrating.
“One pitch at a time, one day at time,” said Angel Martínez, who provided the big hit in the clincher, a Statcast-projected 319-foot chip shot solo homer that snuck around the Pesky Pole in right field. “Right now, it’s time to enjoy. Tomorrow is another day.”
So much of this season has been a roller-coaster ride. The Guardians paced the AL Central into early June, when key hitters José Ramírez, Chase DeLauter and Martínez each suffered injuries on June 13 that required multi-week absences, and left Vogt’s bunch to tread water in their absence.
The Guardians entered the All-Star break five games over .500 (51-46) and tied with the White Sox for first place in the Central, but a 10-20 stretch dropped them to 61-66 and 5 1/2 games back. Since then? Cleveland entered Thursday tied with Milwaukee for the best record in MLB since Aug. 20 at 21-10.
The Guardians’ starting rotation has been their backbone all season; Cleveland is the only team with four pitchers who have made at least 30 starts. That group consistently has been a guiding force, certainly during prolonged low points for the offense. But it’s been a much more balanced effort since the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline, when the Guardians acquired Adell and Nathaniel Lowe to lengthen their lineup.
Cleveland entered Thursday third in the AL in runs per game since Aug. 4 (4.58) after it ranked 14th beforehand (3.95).
The staff allowed a combined three runs in their three games at Fenway, and in Thursday’s shutout, five hurlers combined to yield just two hits while striking out 12.
Just as important to the offensive production and this entire season has been the Guardians’ young talent.
Prognosticators were skeptical about the Guardians entering 2026, following a quiet offseason in which team brass entrusted the organization’s young players to help lead the way this season. Their contributions have been one of the prevailing storylines of the summer.
Lefty Parker Messick is an AL Cy Young Award and AL Rookie of the Year Award contender, and an anchor atop the rotation alongside Gavin Williams. Fellow rookies DeLauter and Travis Bazzana have been lineup fixtures, and Martínez (team-leading 18 home runs) and Brayan Rocchio (team-leading 70 RBIs) have each taken a step forward at the plate.
“This year, with our pitching and our lineup, we have the opportunity to hit with people this year,” Vogt said. “That hasn’t always been the case. I really like the way this offense has been clicking the last couple of months, and we’re pitching well.”
All of those contributions have been vital, certainly on the offensive side amid an uncharacteristic season from Ramírez, the heart and soul of this team, and as All-Star leadoff man Steven Kwan was careening toward a career-worst season through June.
Kwan came out on the other side with a resurgent second half. Ramírez has been heating up this month, even as he continues to manage the after-effects of his surgery on his left hamate bone.
Piece it all together, and you can envision this team making some noise in October. Step 1 is complete.
“This doesn’t get old and you can’t take one minute for granted,” Vogt said. “It’s not a given that you’re going to get in. It’s a long process, a long journey.
“You see the ups and downs. You see how many different guys we use, the injuries, overcoming adversity, the losing streaks, the winning streaks. To punch your ticket and know you have an opportunity to win a World Series, you can’t beat it. It’s what you work all year for.”