The Guardians' Record Against The AL Central Could Come Back To Bite Them

The Cleveland Guardians currently have a 14-21 record against their American League Central opponents.

Tommy Wild | Aug 21, 2023

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Cleveland Guardians

There have been a number of areas where the Cleveland Guardians have underperformed when comparing this team to last season. For example, the offense has fallen flat and the bullpen is blowing many more games this year.

There's one specific spot on the schedule where the Guardians have really taken a step back. That's their performance against the AL Central.

Clevenad has been horrible against their divisional opponents. The AL Central is widely regarded as the worst division in baseball with the Minnesota Twins who are barely above .500 leading the way. Yet, the Guardians can't find a way to win against these teams.

The Guardians have a record of 5-8 against the White Sox, 3-7 against the Tigers, 7-3 against the Royals, and 4-3 against the Twins. Their series loss to Detroit over the weekend is the first time they've lost a season series to the Tigers since 2015. In total, they have a combined record of 14-21 against the Central.

Where exactly has the struggle been?

Cleveland's hitting has beaten up Kansas City (.294 average) but has a combined batting average of .210 against the rest of their division opponents. Their team ERA sits at 2.85 against the Central which isn't all that bad. But that can only get you so far when it's hard to score runs.

May 7, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias (13) forces out Minnesota Twins left fielder Joey Gallo (13) and turns the double play as second baseman Andres Gimenez (0) watches during the second inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The argument can be made that teams see their division rivals more than anyone else on their schedule so they know the batters, pitchers, and gameplan better than anyone. Even though teams play division opponents less this season, the front office and managers have still been able to craft their game plans against the Guardians one another for years.

However, Cleveland can make this same case making it a poor excuse.

The season still isn't over and there's plenty of baseball to play with a chance to right the ship. Cleveland has two more series with the Twins, one more with the Royals, and one more with the Tigers. But it'll be easy to point at how the Guardians played the AL Central early in the season if they do miss out on the playoffs by a handful of games.

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Published Aug 21, 2023

TOMMY WILD