It’s been a tough few weeks for the Cleveland Guardians — except on the field.
Star closer Emmanuel Clase joined teammate Luis Ortiz in being placed on leave as part of an investigation into sports betting. Then the front office traded away former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber as he neared a return from Tommy John surgery — not exactly the type of move a team makes when it fancies itself a contender.
And yet, the Guardians have won nine of their last 11, even after a loss Sunday to the Chicago White Sox. They are a half-game behind the New York Yankees for the final wild card in the American League.
After losing to Detroit on July 6 — just over a month ago — the Guardians had dropped 10 in a row and trailed the AL Central-leading Tigers by 15 1/2 games. That lead is now six. If Cleveland actually catches Detroit and wins the division, it would be the biggest comeback in the divisional play era.
Here are the largest comebacks to date, according to Sportradar.
1978 New York Yankees (14 games): New York won the AL East thanks to Bucky Dent’s homer in a one-game playoff at Fenway Park, and although this was a painful episode in Red Sox history, the Yankees won this more than Boston lost it. New York went 30-9 to finish the regular season. After stumbling in early September, the Red Sox later won eight in a row to force the playoff.
1995 Seattle Mariners (13 games): After a win on Aug. 2, the California Angels led Seattle by 13 in the AL West and Texas by 11. Then the Angels went 22-34 the rest of the way while the Mariners were 36-20. When the teams met in a one-game playoff, it was a 9-1 blowout in Seattle’s favor, and although wild cards were in the playoffs for the first time, California couldn’t even salvage one of those.
2012 Oakland Athletics (13 games): Fresh off two straight pennants, the Texas Rangers led the Angels by 6 1/2 and the A’s by 13 at the end of June. But Oakland went 33-13 down the stretch, forcing the Rangers to settle for a wild card.
1973 New York Mets (12 1/2 games): Tug McGraw’s famous phrase — “Ya gotta believe!” — was a rallying cry of this comeback. New York was 12 1/2 back in early July and still in last place in late August, but the Mets took a weak NL East with an 82-79 record and then beat Cincinnati to win the pennant.
2006 Minnesota Twins (12 1/2 games): Detroit was 35-14 and led the Twins by over a dozen games, but there was enough time left for Minnesota to edge the Tigers in the AL Central when Detroit dropped five in a row to end the regular season. Although there are similarities between 2006 and this year, the good news for the Tigers is that they did make the World Series that season as a wild card.
Trivia time
Which team did the Red Sox a momentary favor by routing the Yankees 9-2 to help force that playoff game in 1978?
Line of the week
Shea Langeliers had five hits — including three solo homers — for the Athletics a 16-7 win over Washington on Tuesday night. Langeliers became the fourth catcher with two three-homer games, joining Johnny Bench, Gary Carter and Travis d’Arnaud.
Comeback of the week
The New York Mets led Milwaukee 5-0 in the fourth inning Sunday, but nobody who has watched those two teams recently should have been shocked when the Brewers chipped away and eventually won 7-6 on a solo homer by Isaac Collins in the bottom of the ninth.
Milwaukee, which had a win probability of 7.1% in the fourth according to Baseball Savant, has won nine in a row to take a five-game lead over the Phillies and Blue Jays for baseball’s best record. The Mets, on the other hand, have dropped seven straight and lead Cincinnati by only 1 1/2 games for the National League’s final wild card.
Trivia answer
Cleveland, which won just 69 games that season.
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