09/26/26 11:27:00
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09/26 23:24 CDT The Guardians were 'on fumes' to close out the AL Central, and
now they get a bye to recover
The Guardians were 'on fumes' to close out the AL Central, and now they get a
bye to recover
By MARC BOWMAN
Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) --- Six games back of the AL Central-leading Chicago
White Sox in mid-August, the Cleveland Guardians threw everything they had at
chasing down their division foes.
Lucky them, the AL Central crown comes with a little break before their
postseason begins.
"We'll get some rest, this team was on fumes," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt
said after his club wrapped up its third straight division title by beating the
Kansas City Royals 11-5 on Saturday night while Chicago lost 9-6 to the
Colorado Rockies. Cleveland has won seven AL Central championships in the past
11 seasons.
So they know how to celebrate.
After nearly an hour of dousing each other with bubbly in the clubhouse,
drenched Guardians players spilled out of their dugout to continue their
celebration and slip-and-slide on the tarp-covered Kauffman Stadium field as
the rain began to fall harder.
"What an incredible accomplishment," said Guardians president Chris Antonetti,
who lauded the players, coaching staff and his front office for their hard work.
"But this is why we do it," he said, gesturing to the celebration in the locker
room.
The Guardians clinched a postseason berth with Thursday's 1-0 win over the
Boston Red Sox. They've earned a playoff spot eight times since 2016.
"There's so many people that have contributed to this win, this championship
and I think that's what makes this feel really good," Vogt said. "I think
that's the story of this year, how deep the roster was."
Vogt is the eighth manager to guide a team to the postseason in each of his
first three seasons, and the 2026 championship required his most creative
efforts. That included overcoming injuries to Jose Ramirez, Angel Martnez and
rookie Chase DeLauter.
"We were without three of our best hitters for over a month and the boys held
it together," Vogt said. "They held the season together. Our season could have
gone very differently."
The Guardians tried to bolster the club with the trade-deadline acquisitions of
outfielder Jo Adell, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, left-hander Foster Griffin
and right-hander Craig Yoho.
Yet the Guardians trailed Chicago by six games on Aug. 16. Then they won 25 of
the next 36, including 15 of their final 21.
"What this team did over the last 21 games was really special," Vogt said.
"(The players) deserve all the credit."
"I feel like the thing about us, the stretch we had after the All-Star break,
the majority of teams could have folded," Saturday's winning pitcher, Tanner
Bibee said.
"We could have went back in our shell, but we knew it was going to flip. If you
show up every day on the field in the same way, usually the baseball gods
reward you in a good way."
Cleveland will wrap its season Sunday, then will be off until opening an AL
Division Series at home next Saturday.
Bibee, whose 15 losses are tied for the major-league lead, sees the playoffs as
a reset.
"At this point, it doesn't matter," he said. "Everyone's at zero when it gets
to October. The stats don't matter. Only wins do now. That's the beautiful
thing about October."
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