With the number 1 seed in the American League out of reach for the Guardians, their final series of the regular season is looking like it could be a potential preview for what’s to come in the ALDS.
And it’s a rough preview, with the Guardians dropping two in a row to the Astros after their 4-3 loss on Saturday night.
It wasn’t the best outing for Ben Lively, giving up five hits, four walks, and two runs with two unearned runs through four innings of work; taking the loss on the night, snapping a streak of back-to-back winning decisions.
“My off-speed was all over in the first couple of innings,” Lively said following the game. “I just had to make competitive pitches with my fast ball and battle.”
Lively seemed to find his command in the third and fourth innings, but at that point the Astros had run his pitch count up, prompting the bullpen to step in for the fifth.
Even though the top seed in the American League is out of reach for the team, there are still some milestones that are not out of reach for José Ramírez.
In his pursuit of the 40-40 club, José is on pace to make it after hitting his 39th home run of the season – a go-ahead 2 run homer in the 1st – off of Justin Verlander, marking his fourth home run against the veteran righty. If José can get that elusive 40th home run in the Guardians’ regular season finale, he and Shohei Ohtani (54 home runs, 57 stolen bases) will be the first pair of players to reach the 40-40 milestone in the same season.
“It has been an unbelievable year to watch,” Stephen Vogt said of Ramírez after the game. “What Josey has done is so much fun. You watch his at-bats tonight, and he’s on every pitch. There’s no fooling him right now.”
Another 40 that’s on the table for José is doubles. With his last at bat in the game, he notched his 39th double of the season, marking the 1500th hit of his career.
The only thing more reliable than José Ramírez for the Guardians is the bullpen, who once again stepped in to hold the Astros scoreless through five innings, and giving Cleveland a fighting chance to get the win.
Unfortunately the Guardians came up short in their attempt to mount the comeback, and close games like this one are the ones that they need to win to make a deep run in the post season.
While this weekend’s season finale between the Guardians and the Astros could be a preview of the upcoming division series at Progressive Field, Stephen Vogt isn’t looking at it entirely that way.
When asked if this series is like a playoff preview, Vogt said “a little bit.”
“Both teams are not necessarily deploying strategies that they normally would in games,” the skipper continued. “We don’t know who we’re going to play, we don’t know how it’s going to shake out so for us it’s getting prepared for…the playoffs but we still have a job to do and that’s to win tomorrow.”
The Astros still have to make it past the Wild Card round to meet the Guardians again. As of Saturday night, the Astros face the Royals in the Wild Card, but depending on Sunday’s outcomes they could just as conceivably match up with the Tigers this week – meaning Houston, Detroit, and Kansas City are all in play for the Guardians’ ALDS match up depending how the Wild Card round shakes up and who comes out on the other side.
Sunday’s final games are big ones to determine seedings and Wild Card match ups. But for the Guardians, the only thing that matters for them on Sunday is a win to end the regular season on a high note.