The Cleveland Guardians are 51-46 and tied for 1st in the AL Central after a sweep of the Miami Marlins this past weekend. Cleveland played some of their best baseball vs. Miami, as the Marlins came into the series with a 6 game winning streak. The pitching was outstanding as the hurlers held Miami to only 5 runs total, and kept MLB leading hitter Otto Lopez off the bases, as he went 0-12. Closer Cade Smith recorded his MLB leading 28th save in the series.

The Guardians are still without Jose Ramirez and Angel Martinez, both of whom suffered injuries that have kept them out the past month. They should return some time after the All-Star break, but in the meantime the team has had several rookies that have made a significant impact on the team's success, namely OF Chase DeLauter, 2B Travis Bazzana, OF Khalil Watson, OF Petey Halpin, and LHP Parker Messick.  C/OF Cooper Ingle was brought up for a brief time, while the bullpen has added Franco Aleman, who looked impressive in the Miami series. DeLauter and Bazzana look to have the potential to give the Guardians a big spark to the offense for years to come, while Watson with more playing time could add to that.

65 games remain, and Cleveland is yet again is in the thick of the AL Central race to the top. The Guardians are 2 time defending champions, and there's no reason to believe that they can't make it 3 titles in a row. Probably the 2 most important factors going forward is the bullpen, which has been other than Cade Smith shaky at times, and the offense, which has been sporadic for the most part. Getting Ramirez and Martinez back should be a boost to the everyday lineup. The starting pitching has been strong, with the 5 starters (Williams, Bibee, Cantillo, Messick, and Cecconi) making Cleveland the only team that has used only 5 starters from the start of the season to the All-Star break.