The Cleveland Guardians are in a race in the American League Central and in the league’s wild-card chase. To keep pace, they’ll want to take advantage of games against the team with the longest active losing streak in the major leagues.
The Guardians begin a six-game road trip with a matchup against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday afternoon. Cleveland is 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central while holding a one-game advantage over the Toronto Blue Jays for the league’s final wild-card spot.
“We’re in the hunt,” Guardians reliever Cade Smith said. “The weather’s starting to turn. It’s starting to feel like fall is coming. It’s starting to feel like we’re chasing playoff baseball.”
Cleveland (73-71) won three of four games against visiting Detroit, including Sunday’s 3-2 decision, which marked its second 10-inning victory of the series. All three triumphs against Detroit came on walk-offs, with Daniel Schneemann’s winning hit Sunday.
“Obviously, we wish we could win games differently and be a little more relaxed,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “But that’s not who we are. We love these games.”
But the thrilling outcomes have bred confidence in a team that was five games below .500 less than three weeks ago.
“We feel like we’re really going to win a lot of games this month and make a push in October,” Schneemann said.
The Orioles (69-75) have lost six straight games, putting their quest for an AL wild-card spot in jeopardy.
“The league just doesn’t let up, especially the schedule we have in front of us,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “We know what we’re playing for. You still have to go out there and compete, make sure you’re prepared to go out there, which our guys are, and right now, we’re just falling on our faces right now.”
Baltimore has dropped eight of its last 10 home games.
“I know it’s tough for the fans to hear it, but we’ve been in this spot multiple times this year and our guys continue to find a way to keep on going, and that’s all we can do,” Albernaz said. “All we can do is show up tomorrow, be ready to play and just play the game in front of us.”
The Orioles placed outfielder Luis Robert Jr. on the 10-day injured list Sunday with left hamstring discomfort.
Left-hander Joey Cantillo (9-8, 3.81 ERA) is expected to start for Cleveland despite coming off a miserable 5 1/3-inning outing against Toronto on Wednesday, when he allowed nine runs (four earned) and nine hits.
Cantillo didn’t record a decision when he yielded four runs (three earned) in 4 2/3 innings of Cleveland’s 8-4 home triumph against Baltimore on April 19. He has made five career appearances (three starts) against Baltimore, going 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA covering 14 2/3 innings.
Left-hander Trevor Rogers (9-9, 4.30) will be the starting pitcher for the Orioles. Rogers will make his third attempt at earning his 10th win of the season, though he didn’t notch a decision in Wednesday’s 11-strikeout effort that lasted 6 2/3 innings at Colorado.
Rogers earned victories in his only two home starts in August. The Guardians defeated Rogers on April 19 in Cleveland, where he allowed six runs (five earned) over five innings. In three career starts against Cleveland, he’s 0-2 with a 6.91 ERA.
–Field Level Media
