Cleveland Guardians clinch 2022 American League Central Division

Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal
·4 min read
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The Guardians are atop the American League Central Division for first time since 2018.

The youngest team in baseball entered the day with a magic number of one, meaning a Guardians win or a Chicago White Sox loss would clinch the division. With the Guardians holding a 10-4 lead over the Texas Rangers in the ninth, the White Sox lost to the Detroit Tigers 4-1 to clinch the division title. The division title rendered the Guardians' nine-game homestand to finish the regular season meaningless.

A ton of contact and aggressive base-running: Guardians' brand puts playoff spot in sight

Under the new MLB postseason format, the Guardians are headed for the No. 3 seed in the American League. They'll host the Wild Card Series, a best-of-three setup, with all three games being played at Progressive Field. The Houston Astros and New York Yankees, respectively, are likely to be the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds. Both will receive byes through the Wild Card Series.

The Guardians, by age and service time, are MLB's youngest team, with 16 players making their rookie debuts this season. In what was viewed by many outside the clubhouse as a likely transition year while the Guardians leaned into both a youth movement and a severe payroll cut in the past few years, they instead rallied to win the division while the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins floundered and dealt with injuries.

The Guardians have been one of the hottest teams in baseball in the past few weeks, winning 18 of their past 21 games. The final homestand can now be used to line up the team's pitching for the three-game Wild Card Series.

Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill are the probable starters to pitch in the three-game series this week against the Tampa Bay Rays, and are expected to line up in that order in the Wild Card Series.

Sunday's victory gave the Guardians their 11th AL Central title since the division was created in 1994. Under manager Terry Francona (since 2013), Cleveland has won four division titles (2016, 2017, 2018, 2022) and made the playoffs six times (wild card appearances in 2013, 2020).

Sunday's clinch completes a rather stunning turnaround during which the Guardians left the other AL Central contenders behind in resounding fashion. At the end of May, FanGraphs' projections had the Guardians with a 5.7 percent chance to win the division.

Impressive three-week run by Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians and Twins were tied for first in the AL Central on Sept. 4 with 68-64 records, and the White Sox were third with a 67-67 record.

Three weeks later when play ended Sunday, the Guardians (86-67) held a 10-game lead over the White Sox (76-77) and a 12-game lead over the Twins (74-79).

The Guardians won nine of their final 10 games against the Twins, including a three-game sweep in Minnesota and four out of five games in Cleveland in September.

The Guardians swept a three-game series in Chicago against the White Sox last week.

They won the season series over the Twins (13-6) and the White Sox (12-7).

Steven Kwan provides the power Sunday for Cleveland Guardians

Rookies Steven Kwan, Oscar Gonzalez, Gabriel Arias and Tyler Freeman made an impact Sunday in the 10-4 win over the Rangers.

Four of Kwan’s career-high five RBIs Sunday came on his first career grand slam in the eighth inning.

Kwan and Gonzalez each hit an RBI single in the third. The Guardians also scored on a fielder’s choice and an error to lead 4-0.

Arias contributed a two-run triple in the sixth to make it 6-2.

Freeman finished with two hits and scored two runs.

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Aaron Civale throws home during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Aaron Civale throws home during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Aaron Civale allowed two runs on three hits in five innings. Civale (3-6) is 21-0 in his career when provided at least three runs of support. He struck out seven and walked none. He threw 75 pitches in his second start since returning from the injured list following forearm inflammation.

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis. Michael Beaven contributed to this article.

Cleveland Guardians second baseman Tyler Freeman, right, smiles and throws the ball after catching a line drive during the second inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Cleveland Guardians second baseman Tyler Freeman, right, smiles and throws the ball after catching a line drive during the second inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Rays at Guardians

Time: 6:10 p.m. Tuesday

TV: Bally Sports Great Lakes

Pitchers: Corey Kluber (10-9, 4.30) vs. Shane Bieber (12-8, 2.81)

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Clinched: Guardians secure 2022 American League Central division title