Will Playing So Many Doubleheaders Eventually Hurt Guardians Playoff Hopes?

Cleveland just played its eight twin-bill of the season and it still has two more on the schedule.

Baseball season is long enough as it is.

But when you're forced to play what feels like a month's-worth of doubleheaders because of so many early season rainouts, it's even tougher.

One Guardians player told me in the clubhouse on Monday evening that he just learned after Monday's 8-4 win the team had a day-night doubleheader scheduled for Tuesday.

Tuesday marked Cleveland's eighth double-dip of the season and there are still two more left on the calendar (Saturday, July 23 at Chicago and Saturday, September 17 vs. Minnesota). On those first eight dates: the Guardians split five times, they swept the White Sox on April 20 and they were beaten twice by the Yankees and Tigers in twin bills last week.

That gives them an up-to-date record of 7-9 after splitting with the White Sox on Tuesday. Cleveland took Game 1 today 4-1 thanks to Shane Bieber's complete game dominant effort, but Chicago earned a Game 2 victory in the nightcap.

Given that the team is trying like crazy to hang in the AL Central race, it feels like they're at a disadvantage right now. In all but one instance, the team has had to use a starting pitcher other than a normal rotation guy on a doubleheader day. An off day before the May 7 games against Toronto enabled both Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie to start those Saturday games. But when you're consistently using your 27th man as a minor league pitcher to start one of the games of a doubleheader against a Major League lineup, over time that feels like a tall order. For the most part - thankfully - the Guardians' bullpen hasn't found itself in shambles.

In fairness, the team is only two games under .500 in doubleheader games, so perhaps it isn't a huge deal. But given how young the Guardians are and the fact that AL Central race is tighter than most fans expected, I wonder if we'll look back at the end of the season and consider if being forced to play so many doubleheaders ended up being the difference between Cleveland playing baseball in mid-October and staying home to watch the playoffs on TV.

In the meantime, let's pray for a moderate summer on the shores of Lake Erie.

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Read More:

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Guardians Farm Report: Planez Extends Hitting Streak To 21 Games With Clutch HR For Lake County

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