The Guardians spent part of July looking for solid ground, playing without José Ramírez after left hamate surgery and absorbing a four-game skid that left them barely above .500 on July 8. By Saturday night in Kansas City, they were standing atop the American League Central again.
Cleveland wrapped up its third consecutive division crown with an 11-5 win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, then got the final confirmation when the White Sox dropped a 9-6 decision to the Rockies. The title gives the Guardians the AL’s No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. Their postseason opens next Saturday at Progressive Field in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.
The opponent will be either the White Sox or the winner of the AL West, where the Astros and Rangers remain in the mix.
There was a familiar edge to the clincher. Tanner Bibee gave up three runs in the opening inning, putting Cleveland in an immediate hole, but the Guardians answered before the game could settle into the Royals’ hands. Patrick Bailey tied it in the second with a two-run homer that clipped the right-field foul pole, and Steven Kwan followed with a go-ahead triple as Cleveland moved in front, 4-3.
Bibee recovered from the rough beginning and worked six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk for a quality start. The offense kept adding on around him. Chase DeLauter hit a solo homer in the third, while Brayan Rocchio went deep in both the seventh and ninth innings. Bailey capped his first two-homer game with another blast in the ninth.
Travis Bazzana nearly completed the cycle, finishing one home run short.
The celebration carried a little extra weight after the club’s difficult summer stretch. Catcher Austin Hedges had tried to frame that July 8 loss as part of a longer season, saying a contender has to endure hard moments before it can overcome them. Cleveland was still close enough to the division race then, Hedges said, to keep its eyes on October and the larger goal of a World Series run.
The Guardians did more than hold their position. They climbed back to first and stayed there. This is Cleveland’s fourth Central title in five years, its seventh in the past 11 seasons and its 14th division championship in the 32 seasons since the AL Central was formed.
