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September is approaching fast.

With August coming to a close, we now have a good idea of who the true postseason contenders are.

The Cleveland Guardians are at the top of the American League Central and look to be one of those teams.

They just finished a six-game road trip in which they went 3-3 against the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners, respectively.

But after losing three out of four in Seattle, the Guardians’ lead in the AL Central has been cut to two games, as the Minnesota Twins recently swept the San Francisco Giants.

The Guardians now return home and have three games with the Baltimore Orioles and three more with Seattle.

Guardians Set For Big Homestand

This is a big stretch of games coming up for the Guardians.

The Mariners got the better of them over the weekend, and now they return home to start a huge stretch.

The Orioles have been a surprise contender this season.

They sit just a game-and-a-half back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the third AL Wild Card spot.

The Guardians will have Triston McKenzie and Shane Bieber lined up to start the final two games of the series.

The Mariners have been red-hot since late June and will come into town for Labor Day weekend.

This is a stretch that could define the Guardians’ season.

Like Baltimore, the Guardians have been somewhat of a surprise.

But they’ll need to come out of this stretch of games playing good baseball if they want to prove themselves as a legitimate postseason contender.

It’s crunch time now, and we’ll see if the Guardians can come out on top in this all-important stretch of games.

This article first appeared on Guardians Nation and was syndicated with permission.

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