The dog days are over and the air carries a crispness synonymous with October baseball.
The Cleveland Guardians are ramping up for another playoff run to bring Cleveland its first championship since 1948. Six games remain in the regular season, and the magic number to clinch a playoff berth is three.
The next six games bring a ton of importance to how successful they can be in the playoffs. The time is now to pay attention to six pivotal storylines that will shape October in Cleveland.
The Division
The Guardians begin the sprint to the finish with a one game lead over the Chicago White Sox. Should they hold court and win their third-straight division title, then they will enter the playoffs as the second seed. The first two seeds get byes in the wild card round and it will allow them to avoid the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees in the divisional round. However, the White Sox hold the tie breaker for first place, so the Guardians have no room for error to lose any ground and the White Sox play against two last-place teams. The path to the World Series is much shorter by winning the division.
Brayan Rocchio
Rocchio exited Saturday’s game with leg tightness and missed the following day’s game. He is expected to be back for the final two series, but will tightness affect him on the field? He has been a productive nine-hole hitter for the Guardians this season and he has allowed the lineup to turnover to the top by hitting .250. Rocchio has been Cleveland’s best clutch hitter this season, as he has four walk-off hits. The Guardians need playoff Rocchio to have a chance against better offenses.
Parker Messick
Messick may be on the line for two more starts in the final six games. He has been Cleveland’s best starting pitcher all season and will be relied on in games one or two in a playoff series. The rookie of the year candidate has not pitched this many innings at any point in the minor leagues. Messick’s stamina down the stretch is key to getting past a three-or-five game series, when games one and two are most important. His next two starts will reveal if he has enough life in his arm for the playoffs.
The Bullpen
Relief pitching has been inconsistent this season and the Guardians do not have a lock down relief pitcher other than Cade Smith. They need a good bullpen as the starting pitchers will be on a short leash if they do not have their good stuff that night. If the bullpen can shut teams down in the next six games, then it will be encouraging going into a playoff series. Should the bullpen not throw strikes and allow too many baserunners, then the Guardians will struggle to win the division.
Jose Ramirez
After struggling from coming back from injury, Ramirez has three-straight games with multiple hits. The offense has improved after the trade deadline, but Ramirez is still their best hitter. The hamate bone injury is affecting his power, but he is still a big presence at the plate. Ramirez needs to continue his hit parade for the remainder of the regular season for the team to achieve their ultimate goal of winning the division. If Ramirez can get hot to end the season, then the Guardians have a great chance at winning their first playoff series with their offense.
The Newbies
Chase DeLauter, Angel Genao, Travis Bazzana are rookies and Jo Adell has never played in a playoff game. DeLauter made his major league debut in the playoffs last season and looked comfortable. These guys are expected to be major contributors for the offense and the next six pressure-filled games will be an important test for them. The last six games will reveal how these players will handle playoff pressure.
The next six games act like an extra week of playoff-level baseball and the Guardians have to prove that they belong in the chase for the Commissioner’s trophy.
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