09/27/26 12:54:00
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09/27 00:52 CDT The Guardians were 'on fumes' to close out the AL Central, and
now they get a bye to recover
The Guardians were 'on fumes' to close out the AL Central, and now they get a
bye to recover
By MARC BOWMAN
Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) --- Six games back of the AL Central-leading Chicago
White Sox in mid-August, the Cleveland Guardians threw everything they had at
chasing down their division foes.
Lucky them, the AL Central crown comes with a little break before their
postseason begins.
"We'll get some rest. This team was on fumes," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt
said after his club wrapped up its third straight division title by beating the
Kansas City Royals 11-5 on Saturday night while Chicago lost 9-6 to the
Colorado Rockies.
Cleveland has won seven AL Central championships in the past 11 seasons --- so
the Guardians know how to celebrate.
After nearly an hour of dousing each other with bubbly in the clubhouse,
drenched players spilled out of the visitors' dugout to continue their
celebration and slip and slide on the tarp-covered Kauffman Stadium field as
the rain began to fall harder.
"What an incredible accomplishment," said Guardians president Chris Antonetti,
who lauded the players, coaching staff and his front office for their hard work.
"But this is why we do it," he said, gesturing to the celebration in the locker
room.
The Guardians clinched a postseason berth with Thursday's 1-0 win over the
Boston Red Sox. They've earned a playoff spot eight times since 2016.
"There's so many people that have contributed to this win, this championship,
and I think that's what makes this feel really good," Vogt said. "I think
that's the story of this year, how deep the roster was."
Vogt is the eighth manager to guide a team to the postseason in each of his
first three seasons, and the 2026 title required his most creative efforts.
That included overcoming injuries to Jos Ramrez, Angel Martnez and rookie
Chase DeLauter.
"We were without three of our best hitters for over a month and the boys held
it together," Vogt said. "They held the season together. Our season could have
gone very differently."
The Guardians tried to bolster the club with the trade-deadline acquisitions of
outfielder Jo Adell, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, left-hander Foster Griffin
and right-hander Craig Yoho.
Yet the Guardians trailed Chicago by six games on Aug. 16. Then they won 25 of
the next 36, including 15 of the past 21.
"What this team did over the last 21 games was really special," Vogt said.
"(The players) deserve all the credit."
The White Sox led or were tied for first in the AL Central from July 4 until
Sept. 16.
Cleveland became the first team since divisional play began in 1969 to win
consecutive division titles after being at least six games back through 125
games in both years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"I feel like the thing about us, the stretch we had after the All-Star break,
the majority of teams could have folded," said Tanner Bibee, the winning
pitcher Saturday.
"We could have went back in our shell, but we knew it was going to flip. If you
show up every day on the field in the same way, usually the baseball gods
reward you in a good way."
Cleveland will wrap up its regular season Sunday, then will be off until
opening a best-of-five Division Series at home next Saturday.
Bibee, whose 15 losses are tied for the major league lead, sees the playoffs as
a reset.
"At this point, it doesn't matter," he said. "Everyone's at zero when it gets
to October. The stats don't matter. Only wins do now. That's the beautiful
thing about October."
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