Here's how the Guardians have stayed in 1st

This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell's Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Not many people expected the Guardians to be in this position. They're currently tied with the Twins for first in the division. How have they gotten here? Well, there have been many things, but let’s take a look at three big reasons:

1: Comeback kings
For a week in May, it seemed like all we were asking the guys in the clubhouse was about the team’s never-say-die attitude. After Josh Naylor’s heroics in Chicago, launching a game-tying grand slam late before his go-ahead blast in extra innings, it sparked a refuse-to-quit approach to each and every game that became glaringly obvious. But I think everyone outside the clubhouse was convinced this would be a short-lived run.

Yet here we are at the end of June and the Guardians are never out of a game -- as we saw on Wednesday. Entering Thursday, Cleveland had knocked in 114 runs from the seventh inning on this season. That was tied for the second most in the Majors with the Red Sox (who Cleveland is set to face this weekend) and trails just the Yankees (who had 119 runs and will come to Northeast Ohio next weekend).

2: Contact-first approach
If you put the ball in play, you never know what will happen. A routine ground ball can turn into an error. A sacrifice fly may be all you need to win a game. And, obviously, the more hits you string together, the better shape you’re in. The Guardians have proven how successful this old-school approach can be.

The Guardians' lineup boasts the two toughest hitters to strike out in MLB in Steven Kwan (7.1% strikeout rate) and José Ramírez (7.4%). The team owns the lowest strikeout rate of all 30 clubs with 18.5%, yet its walk rate ranks among the worst in the Majors. This means the Guardians are selective at the plate, but they aren’t looking for a free pass. They are waiting for a pitch they can put in play to try to make an impact. Refusing to give up the easy out and consistently put the ball in play has been the foundation of the team’s success so far.

3: Nothing to lose
Plenty of things can be easier when there’s nothing to lose. The Guardians entered this season with no expectations. Many were expecting them to be at the bottom -- or close to it -- of the American League Central, especially after the team failed to make any big additions to the roster after the lockout ended. Mix that with a roster full of young, enthusiastic players who all naturally have a nothing-to-lose mindset (mostly because they don’t know any better at this point in their careers) and that apparently makes a first-place team -- at least for now.

Who knows what the rest of this season will bring. It’s hard to tell if this team is going through an Energizer Bunny phase and suddenly will burn out or if this success is sustainable. But the Guardians have forced people to start taking them seriously and have thrown themselves back in the “contenders” category.

The last time Cleveland gave off vibes like this was 2016, and if I remember correctly, that was a pretty fun season. Let’s see if it can happen again.