Guardians Make Rangers' Path To Playoffs More Difficult

The Cleveland Guardians take the series over the Texas Rangers.

© Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

We're in the final stretch of the season where every game is important for teams who are on the edge of making the postseason and heading home early. 

The Cleveland Guardians haven't been mathematically eliminated yet but their postseason hopes diminish with every loss and Minnesota Twins win. However, the Texas Rangers are in the thick of the American League Wild Card battle with a lot on the line in each game.

Texas entered their series with the Guardians with a slight edge over the Toronto Blue Jays after a four-game sweep of the team North of the border earlier this week. Texas had a ton of momentum heading into their series against Cleveland but couldn't take advantage of this opportunity.

The Guardians came out swinging in game one scoring 12 runs on 15 hits. Lucas Giolito also returned to his vintage form striking out 12 batters in seven scoreless innings.

Saturday night's contest was much tighter but ended with the same result. Cleveland won a close 2-1 ball game-clinching a series victory over the postseason hopefuls. The Guardians have a chance to sweep the Rangers with a victory on Sunday.

Texas is battling with the Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners for the final Wild Card spot and they could've used this series against a struggling Guardians team to build a little separation from the pack. Instead, they lost ground and found themselves with a slim advantage (+0.5 games) in the playoff picture.

Cleveland surely has made Texas' path to the playoffs much more complicated and difficult with this upset series victory.

© Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Ironically, Cleveland has won the season series against both the Blue Jays and the Mariners and could tie the season series with the Rangers on Sunday. This just goes to show how this season has gone for the Guardians but also their potential heading into next season. 

The Guardians may not make the playoffs, but this series victory shows they're still playing with emotion and not giving up. Other teams who are in a similar position to the Rangers need to remember this when facing off against Cleveland.