The Guardians Can Take AL Central Lead This Week

The Cleveland Guardians have two winnable series against the Oakland Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers up next.

The Cleveland Guardians finished their last road trip with a record of 2-4. The pitching struggled mightily against the San Deigo Padres' Monstar lineup and the offense couldn't get that clutch hit through the first two games against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

This was a disappointing outcome for the Guardians who had wrapped up their previous homestand with the best offense in the Big Leagues in that stretch.

Even with these less-than-stellar outcomes, Cleveland sits just 2.0 games out of first place in the AL Central as the Minnesota Twins face similar issues. The Guardians also have an opportunity to take the lead in the division looking at their upcoming schedule.

Cleveland's next two opponents are very winnable series against the Oakland Athletics and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Oakland A's 

The A's rattled off seven straight wins at the beginning of the month, but their struggles have returned. They hold a 5-5 record in their last 10 games and are 7-9 in the month of June.

The A's plan to pitch Luis Medina (RHP, 7.55 ERA), Paul Blackburn (RHP, 3.48 ERA), and J.P. Spears (LHP, 4.24) against the Guardians.

Cleveland beat Oakland in their second series of the season back in April and they should take the season series this week.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are a little bit of a different case than the Athletics. They currently sit at 37-35 as they continue their series with the D-Backs, but they're currently in quite a slide. 

They're 3-7 in their last 10 games and have lost the NL Central lead to the Cincinnati Reds. The Brewers have also struggled on the road with a record of just 16-18. This is at a time when the Guardians are playing their best baseball at Progressive Field. 

Again, Cleveland is right on the Twins' tale for the division lead. If the Guardians can take care of business against two struggling teams, then they could find themselves in the AL Central this time next week. 

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Read More:

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Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, And The Future Of The Guardians' Starting Rotation

Managing Our Expectations As Guardians Call Up Bo Naylor

Guardians Roster Moves: Triston McKenzie, Bo Naylor, Tim Herrin, Daniel Norris, Touki Toussaint

REPORT: Bo Naylor To Join Guardiansd Saturday, Start On Sunday

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