This is quite the run.
Cleveland Guardians are making historic chase of Detroit Tigers originally appeared on The Sporting News
A month ago, the Cleveland Guardians lost 10 games in a row. They could hardly score. It was miserable.
That had to be the end for their hopes this season, right?
Wrong.
The Guardians are on an incredible run, the Detroit Tigers are cold, and the playoff race is on.
When Cleveland went on its 10-game losing streak, it fell as many as 15.5 games behind the Tigers in the AL Central race.
Now, entering Sunday, the Guardians are just five games back.
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It's a confluence of factors.
The Guardians have discovered themselves again. Players not named Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan are hitting again, including fresh call-up C.J. Kayfus, who is coming off the two best hitting games of his young career.
Trading away the rehabbing Shane Bieber at the trade deadline hasn't depleted the Guardians. Neither has the leave of absence for closer Emmanuel Clase amid a sports betting investigation.
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Sure, that could all could come back to bite them at some point.
But for now, the Guardians are playing with a swagger, and the Tigers aren't playing to the level they were in the first half of the season.
There's a playoff race to be had. The Guardians of recent vintage have shown they can get hot down the stretch.
No one in Cleveland is betting against that happening again now.
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