The Cleveland Guardians Are The Luckiest Team In Baseball

The Cleveland Guardians may be in for a rude awakening down the stretch.

Aug 14, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) singles in the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians have been one of the oddest teams in baseball over the last several weeks. They won five games in a row, then lost seven straight and then won five consecutive games again.

Well, now, the Guardians are once again mired in a losing streak, as they were just swept in a three-game series by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Nevertheless, Cleveland is 72-52 and is still in first place in the American League Central, albeit by a slim margin (the Guardians are two games ahead of the Minnesota Twins).

But is Cleveland's division lead sustainable?

One metric doesn't seem to think so.

Apparently, the Guardians have been the luckiest team in the majors this season.

Updated pot-o-gold chart that sums the lucky games (+1) with the unlucky games (-1) in 2024 for each team. #Guardians so far the luckiest and #Braves the unluckiest#MLB #Statcast #MLBSim #Baseball pic.twitter.com/0EhYxrVnFX

— MLB Deserve-To-Win-O-Meter (@mlb_simulator) August 18, 2024

This really isn't too surprising.

We all know that Cleveland has significant issues, beginning with its starting pitching. The Guardians have one of the worst starting rotations in baseball, and they are hoping that recent additions Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb can help right the ship.

Cleveland has also had problems offensively, particularly with lineup depth. Outside of Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan and Josh Naylor, the Guardians have struggled to get consistent production from their hitters, and even Kwan has cratered the last couple of months after a scintillating start.

Case in point, Cleveland scored a grand total of four runs in its three games against the Brewers and was shut out in the series finale.

The saving grace of the Guardians has been their bullpen, which has undoubtedly kept the team afloat throughout the year.

But is Cleveland's fortune about to come to an end?