CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians through the first 2 1/2 months of the season were on snooze patrol.
On June 25, they were in second place in the AL Central with a non-threatening 40-38 record. They were 8 1/2 games behind the Tigers and minding their own business.
Then things got interesting.
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They lost 10 straight games from June 26 through July 6. They were 15 1/2 games out of first place and lowering the lifeboats.
But before the good ship Guardian disappeared beneath the waves, the pumps started working again. They won 22 of their next 31 games from July 6 through Aug. 14 to reappear on the horizon. They were 63-57 and 6 1/2 games behind the Tigers.
Then they started taking on water again. They lost nine of their next 10 games from Aug. 15 through Aug. 25. They were 64-66 and had dropped to third place in the Central, 12 1/2 games behind Detroit.
Since then, it has been full steam ahead for manager Stephen Vogt’s team. The team has gone 22-8 since their 9-0 loss to the Rays on Aug. 25 to tie the Tigers for first place with two games left in the regular season. What’s more, they hold the tiebreaker over Detroit.
If the Guardians win the AL Central, it will be the biggest comeback in MLB history. The 1914 Boston Braves rallied from at 15-game deficit. Meanwhile, several Guardians reflected on what stood out for them on this improbable trek back to a share of first place.
Jhonkensy Noel
“We’re not surprised that we’re back in first place. We have Jose (Ramirez) for leadership. He’s on the way to the Hall of Fame and he plays like a rookie. We know we can’t play like him, but we can run the bases hard and play good defense.”
Tanner Bibee
“The one that that comes to mind is that the so-called hero of the game hasn’t been just one guy on an absolute tear carrying the team. I feel like we’ve had a different person on every day step up. That’s what stands out to me.”
Logan Allen
“To be honest with you, this whole month of September has surprised me. It hasn’t been one specific game, but we have a collective belief that we know what we can do in here. Just seeing it all come together in September has been a lot of fun to be a part of.
“On Sept. 10, we were still 9 1/2 games out of first place. The feeling in the clubhouse justifies how we’ve been playing. It’s just good to be playing good ball. Now we’ve got to keep it going.”
Parker Messick
“The thing that has stood out to me is the amount of love these guys have for each other and how bad they want to win for each other. That goes from the staff all the way down to the players.
“That makes it easy for a young guy like me. You just say, all right I can help these guys.”
Jakob Junis
“I can’t speak for everybody, but down in the bullpen it’s been all about taking it day by day and doing your job when your name is called. I’m not surprised it’s unfolded this way. We’ve taken it day by day and the wins have started to pile up, and we’ve found ourselves in a good position this last weekend.”
Slade Cecconi
“The feeling I’ve gotten during this stretch is that everybody is going to show up every day and do their job. They’re not going to do more, they’re not going to do less. They’re going to do what they need to do to help this team win every day.
“Nobody in here is playing for their numbers. If we have a guy on second base and somebody hits a ground ball to second to move that guy to third, we’re giving that guy high fives when he comes into the dugout because he did his job to help us win a game. Now do that tomorrow and the next day. That’s all we’re worried about.”
Brayan Rocchio
“For me, it’s the energy that we have. We have that energy day by day, week by week and month by month. We’ve had tough moments and good moments, but the key is to stick together.”
Hunter Gaddis
“To me we’ve just stuck together as a team. There’s been no quit all season. Everybody has been together, having fun and just playing baseball.
“It’s a cop out thing to say that we’re taking things one day at a time, but it’s true. Tomorrow doesn’t matter. Yesterday doesn’t matter. It only matters what happens today.
“It’s the easiest thing to say, but it really is true.”
Kolby Allard
“I don’t think we’d be in this situation without Stephen (Vogt) and his leadership and the things he brings here. He’s been the same guy since I met him on the first day of spring training as he is today. With a less-experienced clubhouse, I think Stephen set that tone, that energy and consistency for every day. It’s been a big part of what we’ve been able to do.
“I think the reason we went on this run is because of the ‘one day at a time, win today mentality’ that has been pushed from Stephen at the top.”