It might be an understatement to say the Cleveland Guardians are on a hot streak.
Cleveland (84-71) has won 10 games in a row and 15 of its past 16 contests. The Guardians trailed by as many as 15 1/2 games in the American League Central in early July and have pulled within one game of the Detroit Tigers for first place with seven games to go.
In the AL wild-card race, Cleveland is tied with the Houston Astros for the third and final berth.
Now comes the Guardians’ series finale against the Minnesota Twins (66-89), who have lost five games in a row. Cleveland will try to complete a four-game sweep in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon, one day after recording shutout victories in a doubleheader.
The Guardians have as much momentum as any team in the big leagues. Part of the reason for that is the leadership of Jose Ramirez, 33, who secured his third career 30-30 season on Saturday as he hit his 30th home run to go with 40 stolen bases.
“It’s so cool to watch him play every day,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “You take for granted a lot of the things that he does because we all get to watch them every day, but 30-30 is such a special accomplishment, let alone 30-40, like he’s had.
“And to do it back-to-back years, and in a year where the offense in general hasn’t been as hot, but he’s continued to just be himself. I couldn’t be more happy for him.”
Guardians left-hander Joey Cantillo (5-3, 3.27 ERA) will try to keep the winning streak alive on Sunday when he makes his 12th start this season. He has 95 strikeouts in 85 1/3 innings.
Cantillo, 25, has not allowed more than one earned run in five consecutive starts. He is 3-1 with a 1.21 ERA in that span and has allowed four runs in 29 2/3 innings.
In five career appearances (three starts) against the Twins, Cantillo is 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA.
Minnesota will counter with right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (7-4, 4.31 ERA), who will make his 21st start of the season. He also has 95 strikeouts in 100 1/3 innings.
Woods Richardson is looking for his third victory in a row. In his last start, he earned a 7-0 win against the New York Yankees on Monday after allowing two hits in six scoreless innings and striking out 11.
“I’ve always been a competitor,” Woods Richardson said. “I’ve always been one of those guys who wants to face the best, compete against the best. In the big leagues, everybody is the best. But there’s also powerhouses in this league. If I can knock down the powerhouses, it’s like a miniature game that you play with yourself.”
Woods Richardson is 0-1 with a 2.49 ERA in four career appearances (all starts) vs. the Guardians.
The series finale will mark the final home game of the season for the Twins, who competed in the first few months before conducting a fire sale prior to the trade deadline in late July.
Cleveland is 43-37 on the road this season, and Minnesota is 37-43 at home.
“We have to do better,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We came into this series scoring a bunch of runs, running the bases real good, flying all over the place, making a lot of different things happen. We didn’t have that (Saturday). We couldn’t find it.”
-Field Level Media
