CLEVELAND — Scoreboard watching is common in September as teams make their final push toward securing a postseason spot. That routine is unique for the Guardians and others this season given the crowded state of the American League playoff picture.
“Sometimes two teams are playing and you’re not sure who you want to win,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said recently. “Not that we have any control over it, so it doesn’t really matter. But as an interested observer, being like, ‘Is that a good outcome for us or not a good outcome for us?’”
What is in the Guardians’ control, as Antonetti also alluded to, is taking care of their own business. They failed to do so in their first opportunity of September.
A fifth-inning meltdown sent the Guardians to a 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays at Progressive Field on Thursday. Toronto sent 10 batters to the plate and scored four runs, all of which were charged to starter Tanner Bibee, to secure the rubber match of a key three-game series between the postseason hopefuls.
The Guardians fell back to .500 (70-70) with the series loss. Their lead over the Blue Jays (70-71) for the final American League Wild Card spot is down to a half game. The Rangers and Orioles (each 69-71) were both in a position to follow suit with a win Thursday night.
The Guardians’ primary focus is winning each day. Scoreboard watching is secondary. If you win your games, more of your destiny is in your hands. That was especially true this series. Cleveland had a chance to directly impact a team it’s up against in the postseason race.
The series loss is a missed opportunity for the Guardians, and it could hurt later on. The Blue Jays secured the season series, 4-2, which would serve as the first tiebreaker if needed.
“We faced some good pitchers,” Bibee said of Dylan Cease, who tossed six scoreless innings on Wednesday, and José Soriano, who was charged with three runs over 4 2/3 innings on Thursday. “They’re also a good team. They were in the World Series last year.
“I think it’s just putting [the series] behind us and move forward.”
The 2026 Blue Jays, though, have been inconsistent. And whether you look at a tough second inning on Wednesday or the fifth on Thursday, Cleveland often did itself no favors this series.
“I walked five guys,” Bibee said. “Five guys came around.”
Only two of the guys Bibee walked scored. But situationally, they came in spots you wish he had a do-over. Bibee issued a leadoff walk to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the fourth inning. Guerrero advanced to second base on a Jesus Sánchez groundout to shortstop Brayan Rocchio and then scored on a Sean Keys RBI single.
Bibee allowed a leadoff walk to Ernie Clement in the fifth and then walked No. 9 hitter Brandon Valenzuela. Walking Guerrero is one thing; walking Valenzuela (who has a .679 OPS over 81 games) is another.
Toronto loaded the bases on a bunt single by leadoff man Brett Bateman, who beat Bibee’s throw to first base. The ball was trickling near the foul line when Bibee fielded it. Maybe it would have rolled foul. It’s hard to fault a guy for trying to make a play.
“The ball went up and I was just trying to get it going,” Bibee said. “I don’t think it was spinning too much to go foul. But I felt my feet on the grass, so I kept going.”
With Bateman aboard, Nathan Lukes hit a bases-loaded two-run double. Guerrero followed with a sacrifice fly and Sánchez added an RBI single. On a day the Guardians went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, the fifth proved decisive.
If there has been a saving grace for the Guardians this week, it’s that the White Sox dropped a three-game series to the Astros. But unlike last season, Cleveland’s playoff hopes are not as dependent on what other teams do. They hold a playoff spot right now.
Cleveland has upcoming series against the Tigers, Orioles, Twins, White Sox and Red Sox. The club just needs to win games.
“We control our destiny,” Vogt said pregame Tuesday. “We’re playing a lot of the teams that we’re either competing for a Wild Card spot with or that we’re chasing in the division. You can’t ask for anything more.
“We just need to go play good baseball and win games. We have control over that.”