A late-season rally flips the AL Central race as the Guardians edge ahead of White Sox

CLEVELAND (AP) — Stephen Vogt and the Cleveland Guardians are used to the late-season pressure of trying not only to clinch a postseason spot, but also to win a division title.

That experience showed during their series against the Chicago White Sox.

After dropping Monday’s opener, the Guardians rallied to win the last two games and took sole possession of first place in the AL Central for the first time since July 3.

Wednesday’s 6-3 win moved the Guardians (78-75) one-half game ahead of the White Sox (77-75). Cleveland is off Thursday before starting a three-game series against the Athletics.

“I mean, it feels good. It doesn’t mean anything yet. We’ve got a job to do for nine more games,” said Vogt, the Guardians' third-year manager who won the division in 2024 and '25.

Even though Cleveland is just 9-7 this month, it has the majors’ third-best September record since 2016 at 173-116. The Dodgers lead at 177-101, followed by the Yankees (169-110).

The Guardians also hold an AL-best 110-61 September record against divisional opponents since 2016.

Cleveland is off Thursday before hosting the Athletics for three games. That's followed by a six-game trip to Boston and Kansas City to end the regular season.

The Guardians’ road to a playoff spot this season is a cakewalk compared to last year, when they had the greatest September comeback in baseball history. They were 69-70 and 11 games behind the Tigers on Sept. 4 before going 15-1, including a 10-game winning streak. The previous biggest margin overcome in September was 8 1/2 games by the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals.

“It’s a lot of the same guys with some added help, and I think this team just knows how to win when it really matters,” said Parker Messick, who picked up his 12th win of the season Wednesday after allowing three runs and striking out eight in six innings.

A mix of familiar and new faces has fueled Cleveland’s run this season.

Brayan Rocchio’s two-run double Tuesday night was his fourth walk-off hit in September in four big-league seasons.

Petey Halpin — a late-September call-up last season — hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning Wednesday.

“The younger guys lean on a lot of the veterans, asking questions, asking how they feel and calming us down,” Halpin said. “I’ve looked at guys in the dugout, and you can see them kind of in it, involved, ready, and you feel that, and it gives you the confidence to be like, ‘No, I belong here. I can do this. Let’s keep going. Let’s keep winning.’”

The White Sox — looking to become the first team in major league history to make the postseason after losing 100-plus games in each of the previous two seasons — can move back into a tie atop the division with a win over Detroit Thursday night to start a four-game series.

After facing the Tigers, Chicago ends the season with three games at Kansas City and hosting Colorado for three games.

The White Sox have dropped seven of nine and 12 of 17, but manager Will Venable was trying to keep a tight focus.

“Regardless of how this series went, we knew that this wasn’t going to define how the end of this year goes for us,” he said. “So yeah, tough to not have that lead, but at the same time, we got a long way to go here.”

Even though they aren’t leading the division, the White Sox have a 1 1/2 game lead over Texas and Toronto for the last AL wild-card spot.

“It’s really difficult right now,” Chicago outfielder Tommy Pham said. “Every game is like a must-win. You have to make the plays, and you have to do the winning thing every day.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here