With MLB-best record, Guardians show offensive success could last

CLEVELAND -- Once again, the Guardians’ offense took care of business.

We’re 22 games into the season and the concept of relying on the offense has almost become an expectation -- something this club hasn’t been able to do in the last handful of years. But backed by a Will Brennan homer and a bases-clearing double by Josh Naylor, Cleveland cruised to a series sweep of Oakland by taking Sunday’s contest, 6-2, at Progressive Field.

This marks just the fifth time in the last 80 years that Cleveland has won 16 of its first 22 games. The others?

• 1948 (won the World Series)
• 1966 (finished 81-81)
• 1988 (finished 78-84)
• 1999 (won AL Central, lost ALDS)

“I think everything's just kind of coming together,” Guardians starter Tanner Bibee said. “I think it's really showing that … last year was just a little bit of a fluke for a lot of people, especially in the lineups, on defense and in the bullpen.”

Over the last five years, it was second nature to just believe that the starting staff would keep the Guardians in contention. Suddenly, the script has flipped.

It’s still a small sample size, but in comparison to the starts that the offense got off to the last few years, there are reasons to believe that this time, the bats are for real. Just take it from the stats MLB.com's Sarah Langs had shared at the start of each of the last five seasons.

2019: Through 34 games, Cleveland hit a combined .212. At the time, that was the team’s worst average through its first 34 games since 1910, when it hit .197 in that span.

2024: Through 22 games, the Guardians have hit a combined .257, which ranked as the sixth-best team average in the Majors at the end of Sunday’s contest.

2020: Cleveland was held to five or fewer hits in 10 of their first 18 games -- that was tied for the second most in the Majors in that span since 1901 with the ‘68 Yankees. In 12 of their first 19 games, they were unable to score more than two runs, which was tied for the most in franchise history (also in 1910).

2024: The Guardians have been held to five or fewer hits in just two of their 22 games. They didn't score more than two runs in three of their contests -- two of which were exactly two runs.

2021: Through the first seven games, 21 of Cleveland’s 27 runs were scored via the homer (77.7%). On April 25 (the team’s 20th game of the season), the offense strung together four consecutive hits for the first time since Sept. 1, 2020.

2024: The Guardians had a short stretch of relying on the long ball. After that, homers became infrequent and they struggled to figure out how to score. This year, 33 of their 124 runs have come via the homer (26.6%, which ranks 28th in the Majors). Even if they aren’t hitting homers, they’ve learned how to find other ways to score.

2022: Through 37 games, the Guardians were tied for the fourth-highest team chase rate (30.9%) and averaged 4.6 runs per game.

2024: That was the year the offense was electric, and still, the ‘24 roster has gotten its chase rate down to 28.8% through 22 games, while averaging 5.6 runs per game.

2023: The Guardians owned a .228 average and a .342 slugging percentage through 24 games. In the first 31 games, the team already played in 16 one-run games (52%).

2024: The Guardians’ plus-52 run differential remains the best in the Majors. It also marks the fourth-highest run differential through 22 games in franchise history, trailing just 1921 (plus-60), 1948 (plus-58) and 1959 (plus-57). In 22 games, six have been decided by one run (27%).

The verdict? Well, it’s too early to know what’s sustainable. But Cleveland’s opponents are catching on to the threat that it may become.

“Right off the bat, you’ve got [Steven] Kwan, who is leading the league in hitting,” A’s starter Ross Stripling said. “But then you’ve got José Ramírez [who had a rare day off on Sunday] and [Josh] Naylor right there in the middle, and Naylor looks like he’s on pace to get like 180 RBIs. … There’s speed in the back of the order, where if they get on base, they can run.

“It’s just a well-put together lineup. They have a lineup against righties and lefties and can play the matchup game. … They’re in a winnable division, so I don’t see them going away any time soon.”