The Cleveland Guardians’ magic number for clinching a postseason berth is two. It remains three for them to win the American League Central Division.
An exciting final series of the regular season is in store when Cleveland hosts the Texas Rangers in a three-game set.
Guardians right-hander Slade Cecconi (7-6, 4.15 ERA) takes on Rangers right-hander Jack Leiter (9-10, 3.92) in the opener Friday.
Cleveland (86-73) is deadlocked with the Detroit Tigers (86-73) atop the division, but owns the head-to-head tiebreaker after taking two of three from them this week.
The Guardians also are one game up on the Houston Astros (85-74), who are currently on the outside of the AL playoff picture. It all comes down to how they fare against Texas (80-79), which was eliminated from contention three days ago.
“We’re in first place, aren’t we? That sounds good to me,” Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges said. “We talk about winning series. We did that. If we win every series moving forward, we win the world championship.”
Though Detroit salvaged the final game of the series Thursday, winning 4-2, dance music echoed throughout the Guardians’ clubhouse as their spirits remain high. It also was playing Sunday in Minnesota after Cleveland’s 10-game winning streak ended.
The Guardians have won 11 of their last 13 and have the best record in baseball this month at 18-6. Three victories over the Rangers would guarantee a second consecutive AL Central championship.
“These thoughts pop into your head, of course, but you put them right out,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “We’ve made a choice to stay in the present and take it one day at a time. We’re going to show up ready to go and ready to win.”
Cecconi has been dynamic over his last three outings, going 2-0 with a 0.87 ERA in 20 2/3 innings. His first three appearances against Texas have all resulted in no-decisions and a 3.09 ERA, including a six-inning, two-run start on Aug. 22.
The Rangers failed to reach the playoffs for the second straight season after winning the 2023 World Series. Texas was squarely in the battle for the AL West until Sept. 14, when it began a rut of nine losses in 10 games.
Season-ending injuries to ace pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, second baseman Marcus Semien, shortstop Corey Seager and outfielder Wyatt Langford badly hurt their cause down the stretch.
“You think about the last two years, it’s not where we want to be,” Semien said. “We want to be in the postseason. This team, in general, has a lot of work to do just to get out of this funk we’ve been in.”
Leiter seeks to avoid a winless September after going 0-3 with a 4.70 ERA since beating the Athletics on Aug. 29. He has faced Cleveland twice, winning once and losing once with a 6.23 ERA over 8 2/3 innings.
The Guardians will catch a break as Jacob deGrom made his final start Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins. The right-hander went 12-8 with a 2.97 ERA, becoming the first Texas qualifying pitcher to finish a season with a WHIP below 1.00. His mark of 0.92 is just shy of major league leader Tarik Skubal (0.89), the Tigers’ ace who is slated to pitch at Boston on Sunday.