Cleveland Guardians Clinch AL Central Division Crown
The Cleveland Guardians are your AL Central division champions. Cleveland captured its 11th division title in franchise history Sunday, and first since 2018, downing the Texas Rangers 10-4. It was the Guardians’ seventh straight win and 18th in their past 21 games.
As MLB’s youngest club, very little was expected of Terry Francona’s squad entering 2022, with bettors backing the heavily favored Chicago White Sox (76-77), who are on track to miss the postseason.
“This team’s good. We’re not just young. We’re pretty good,” said starting pitcher Cal Quantrill. “I don’t think anybody’s excited to face us right now. We’re playing our best baseball. We’re playing baseball the right way.”
Fellow starter Shane Bieber also chimed in when he jokingly said, “What’s wrong with being young?”
The accomplishment is meaningful for Francona, who has battled health issues over the past two seasons and moved into fourth place all-time amongst managers with 11 postseason berths.
“To think of what he’s overcome personally to get to this point,” said president of baseball operations, Chris Antonetti. “This is a special moment for ‘Tito.’
FanDuel Sportsbook currently has the Guardians at +3200 odds to win the World Series.
