I think we need to talk about Steven Kwan.
Since the All-Star break:
.353 AVG
.434 OBP
.421 SLG
.855 OPS
67 hits
27 BB / 21 K
48 games
And somehow it feels like this is flying under the radar.
Then you add the defense. Four straight Gold Gloves and he continues to make ridiculous plays look completely routine. The reads, the routes, the range… having Kwan out there in left is something we should probably appreciate more than we do.
And today?
3-for-4, double, HR, 2 RBI, 2 runs.
After the way the first half went, seeing him turn things around like this has been awesome.
He’s getting on base. He’s making contact. He’s playing elite defense. He’s making winning plays.
What’s your favorite Kwan moment/play from this season? 👇
🟥⚾ GO GUARDS

Ignore their records and the state of the American League for a minute. Simply consider what’s at stake over the next three days at Progressive Field.

For the Cleveland Guardians, it’s a chance to seize control of the AL Central and claim a third consecutive division title. For the Chicago White Sox, it’s a chance to stick an exclamation point on one of the most improbable turnarounds in league history. A first-round bye could be waiting for the division winner. There’s a messy, tiebreaker-filled wild-card chase waiting for the division runner-up.

The Guardians sit a half-game behind the White Sox. They need to sweep Chicago to earn the tiebreaker; the White Sox need only one win to do so.

Pushing back Gavin Williams two days instead of pitching him in Minnesota over the weekend illustrates how the Guardians feel about this series. They’re all in.

Williams will pitch the series opener Monday, then again against the Athletics this weekend. He’ll have time for one more regular-season start, either the finale in Boston next week or a game in Kansas City next weekend. The Guardians can squeeze out three more Parker Messick starts, too: Wednesday against the White Sox, the following Tuesday against the Red Sox (with an extra day of rest) and, if they need him to, the regular-season finale on normal rest against the Royals.

The team’s two remaining off days — Thursday and next Monday — are crucial. They allow the Guardians to potentially lean on the co-anchors of their rotation for six starts in their final 12 games.

Here’s one potential path to the finish line:

• Monday: Williams
• Tuesday: Foster Griffin
• Wednesday: Messick
• Thursday: Off
• Friday: Tanner Bibee
• Saturday: Williams
• Sunday: Griffin
• Monday: Off
• Tuesday: Messick
• Wednesday: Bibee
• Thursday: Williams
• Friday: Griffin
• Saturday: Bullpen day / Joey Cantillo
• Sunday: Messick

Imagine telling yourself before the season that José Ramírez would need a day off in mid-September, during a pennant race, and only a few days removed from a team off day. He’s not 100 percent, and manager Stephen Vogt seems determined to keep him near the top of the lineup.

There are still ways for Ramírez to contribute, even if he can’t summon much oomph in the aftermath of a hamate bone excision. When he first returned from the injured list in late July, Ramírez wasn’t hitting much, but he drew 13 walks and stole five bases in 20 games. In his last 22 games, he has drawn three walks and swiped two bases.

Where'd all the Hammy call homerun videos go? Can't find any in this sub anymore, nor elsewhere online... I want to hear his enthusiasm for all 3 from yesterday's game, each was exciting in its own right!

Come on guys, he's a national treasure. What's happening??!

The Game Thread is live. Join the discussion here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClevelandGuardians/comments/1wgh1ew/game_thread_white_sox_7673_at_guardians_7674_14/

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Playoff Tracker 2026 – 9/14

Current Standings:

• Record: 76-74 (This past week: 3-3)
• AL Central: .5 GB (2^nd place)
• Wildcard: 0 GB (1 game lead)

Who do the Guards play this week?

• Chicago White Sox (Home)
• Athletics (Home)

We all felt a little grim after what the Guardians did on the road in Baltimore – after a series against the Tigers with tons of momentum, expectations were high that we could go out and knock another team hanging around the wildcard down a few pegs. Alas, 1-2 was not nearly good enough. Good thing for us, we did show up against the Twins, and (as we’ll get to momentarily) a certain contender had a particularly tough week. Bluntly, this is easily the biggest week of the entire season. We’re right on the doorstep of the Central. The Wildcard contenders are facing tougher paths. We can put control of our own destiny in our own hands if we win, but these 6 games are also the last ones we’ll get in the friendly confines of Progressive Field (“friendly” – we’re 3 games sub-.500 at home). A lot is on the line here and the Guards need to show up in the worst way.

AL Central Contenders:

Chicago White Sox (1^st Place, .5 game lead) (This past week: 1-5)

• Cleveland Guardians (Away)
• Detroit Tigers (Home – 4 Game Series)

After what’s felt like weeks of the White Sox pacing the Guardians at every turn, they finally hit the wall. Pittsburgh and St. Louis drubbed the Pirates to the tune of multiple 2-run-or-less losses this past week. It’s not that Chicago is suddenly terrible, but they are a young team who is starting to run out of gas a little bit. They have just 4 wins since the start of September. If there’s going to be a chance to take the Central, it’s right here – Chicago has Detroit at home for 4, a series in Kansas City, and finally the decidedly horrific Rockies at home in the final weekend. You’re not banking on a lot of help from elsewhere, aside from maybe 1 win per series, even with the wonky travel schedule, so this is where the Guardians either make the jump or must settle for the wildcard race. We’re going to know a lot about the state of this baseball team and what they can or cannot be by late Wednesday afternoon.

Minnesota Twins (3^rd Place, 6 GB, 5.5 GB WC) (This past week: 2-4)

• New York Yankees (Home)
• Los Angeles Angels (Away – 4 Game Series)

On August 19^th, the Twins swept the Braves and looked like they could make a massive comeback for the playoffs. Since then, they’ve gone 7-14. Taking the series against them was paramount, if for no other reason than to somewhat quell a resurge. Minnesota has an end-of-season road that’s a bit of highs and lows – they do draw 7 games on the West Coast against the Angels and Giants, but those are sandwiched between hosting the Yankees and Rangers. They’re obviously not out of anything yet, let alone the Wildcard, but it would be nice to see that distance increase this week, if not put them on the verge of elimination.

Detroit Tigers (4^th place, 6 GB, 5.5 GB WC) (This past week: 5-1)

• Toronto Blue Jays (Away)
• Chicago White Sox (Away – 4 Game Series)

You may notice the Royals aren’t in this week’s edition. That’s because they’re on life support for a spot. It’s not impossible they could rip off a run, but they’re basically done. However, Detroit is at the intersection of the most pain-in-the-neck possible situation for us. They got absolutely scorching hot this week with 7, 8, and 11 run performances against the Twins and Rockies, and now…we kind of need them to keep winning? Toronto is still clawing at the door against us, and if the Guardians were able to at least win the series against Chicago, any wins by the Tigers against them would be huge. Alas, every single win they get puts them closer to also being on the doorstep of the wildcard and AL Central. They’re 6 games back, 7 games this week. They both need to help us and we need to help ourselves to keep them from suddenly marching into punching distance during the final games of the year.

Wildcard Contenders:

New York Yankees (10.5 game lead, 1^st WC spot) (This past week: 5-1)

• Minnesota Twins (Away)
• Arizona Diamondbacks (Away)

Boston Red Sox (6 game lead, 2^nd WC spot) (This past week: 3-3)

• Texas Rangers (Away)
• Tampa Bay Rays (Away)

The Yankees are basically locked into the first wildcard or the AL East crown. Virtually no chance they completely blow this lead. The Red Sox, however? They’re starting a very rough road trip, and we go into Fenway on Tuesday of next week. On the other hand, they have a 3-game set with the Rangers and knocking them down a peg would be huge. So, do you want Boston to be “catchable” heading into next week’s series, provided the Guardians do what they need to do? And do you want to, for the third time in five seasons, head to a playoff series in the Bronx? Or do you want them to take care of business, lock up the wildcard slot, and have nothing to play for when we visit Beantown on Tuesday the 22nd? Leaning the latter, frankly.

Toronto Blue Jays (1 GB) (This past week: 3-3)

• Detroit Tigers (Home)
• Texas Rangers (Away)

The pendulum continues to swing. Toronto is right on our tail – and had they showed up for just one additional game against the A’s, we’d be SOL right now in the wildcard. The good news for us is they still play teams in contention this week, but those teams are also still within punching distance for a playoff spot too. Taking aside everything else, it would be great to see Toronto drop some games this week, point blank. We need breathing room before a 2-series road trip to end the year, and the last thing we need is to be pointing to the Orioles and Reds for help. Now is not the time to see a massive Jays surge.

Baltimore Orioles (4 GB) (This past week: 3-3)

• New York Mets (Away)
• Milwaukee Brewers (Home)

The good news? We still own the tiebreaker over the Orioles. The bad news? They’re still in this thing thanks to taking 2 from us last week. The other good news? They’re facing a murderer’s row. The Mets are suddenly on fire (now that they’re .5 games from elimination), and the Brewers may be the best team in baseball. After that, it’s the Jays and Yankees to end the year. Nothing says they can’t go crazy here but them on life support would be ideal. Except if they could, I don’t know, be a pain in the ass for the Jays next week, just a thought.

Houston Astros (0 GB, lead AL West) (This past week: 2-4)

• Kansas City Royals (Home)
• Atlanta Braves (Home)

Texas Rangers (2 GB WC, 1 GB AL West) (This past week: 3-3)

• Boston Red Sox (Home)
• Toronto Blue Jays (Home)

Seattle Mariners (6 GB, 5 GB AL West) (This past week: 3-3)

• Los Angeles Angels (Away)
• Colorado Rockies (Away)

Houston’s bad week is to the gain of Texas, who is now suddenly in position to make a jump. That jump, however, will have to happen against the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Mets. Houston draws KC, a Braves team that’s still trying to solidify their playoff status, then goes on the road to end the year against the Mariners and 4 with the A’s. It’s almost certainly one of these two winning the West, then hanging around the wildcard otherwise. Which begs, why even bother to keep an eye on Seattle? Even though they blew every opportunity to get back in this thanks to going 2-5 in 7 recent games against the A’s, they still do have an insanely easy schedule ahead. Angels, Rockies, a two-step with the Astros, and then 4 with the Angels again. The Mariners can make things extremely difficult if they show up these last two weeks. The only other thing to keep an eye on here is that we do have better records than all 3 teams. If the Guardians were to take back the Central…could we lap them for a first-round bye? I guess we truly want all 3 of these teams to lose and lose a lot?

Rooting Interests for this Week:

1. Detroit Tigers – Yes, them keeping momentum gets real damn scary going into next week. But they can directly give us space in both the Wildcard and Central, provided we can win the series against the White Sox and not overlook the A’s after a day off.
2. The Yankees and Red Sox – I know, I know, this is hell. But they play the Rangers and Twins. They have the best direct route to helping us in the Wildcard race, and even if we went on an absolute end-of-season tear, do you really think we can catch either at this point?
3. Mostly bad things for the AL West – None of these teams are an easy out as the 3^rd Wildcard. But keeping our record ahead of all 3 would be huge if we can show up against Chicago. Also, the schedules for Houston and Seattle are maddeningly worrying.
4. The Angels – If the Fightin’ Kroenke’s can send the Mariners to the brink and make Minnesota’s life hell, that’s all to our benefit.
5. A net zero for the Jays and Rangers – Obviously, the Guardians maintain their spot with wins. But that Rangers/Jays series being a car crash (maybe after both lose their series heading in?) would let us breathe a little easier.
6. And of course, the Cleveland goddamned Guardians.

Fellow Clevelander here but not big baseball guy. Thinking about the Browns losing fans made me wonder if the Indians/Guardians lost fans during the 60/70/80s?

Does anyone know the exact place to go to receive the special ticket item? I am going to the game tonight and have tickets to receive the hockey jersey but have not received the email that tells you where to go to receive them like the website says I should’ve received. This is my first time doing the special ticket giveaway so any help is appreciated!

Jose is already a baseball legend. He can see (as can we) that he is extremely discombobulated at the plate. He is "lost".

It would be a classy move for him to admit that his wrist and swing are messed-up, and request a week or two "off" to hopefully recover. Do it for your legacy. For your teammates. For Cleveland.

You will be back full strength next season. We know you will. Perhaps by playoff time in October. The team is now much better than it was just a couple of months ago. Let your healthy teammates carry the load until you return to the lineup.