The Cleveland Guardians were in the midst of a 10-game losing streak and six games out of the final American League wild-card spot on July 5 -- a day that ended with the New York Mets a half-game out of first place in the National League East and comfortably in the second NL wild-card position.
A month later, the fates of the Guardians and Mets are not nearly as clear.
The Guardians will look to complete a sweep of the reeling Mets on Wednesday afternoon when Cleveland visits New York in the finale of a three-game interleague series.
Right-hander Gavin Williams (6-4, 3.33 ERA) is slated to start for the Guardians against left-hander David Peterson (7-4, 2.83) of the Mets.
The Guardians continued their surge Tuesday night, when Steven Kwan's RBI single in the seventh inning capped a comeback from a two-run deficit and lifted Cleveland to a 3-2 win.
Timely hitting and pitching benefited the Guardians, as they won despite failing to collect an extra-base hit. However, Kwan's tiebreaking single was the third straight two-out hit in the seventh for Cleveland, which tied the game on Gabriel Arias' two-out RBI single in the fourth.
A quintet of Guardians pitchers combined to retire the final 14 Mets in order. Cleveland's bullpen ERA fell to 3.57, the sixth-best mark in the majors.
With the efficient win, the Guardians improved to 18-8 since July 6 -- the third-best record in the big leagues in that span -- and pulled within 1 1/2 games of the final AL wild card spot.
"I think it's just the belief -- I think it starts at the top with Stephen (Vogt, the manager)," said Guardians pitcher Kolby Allard, who got four outs in relief on Tuesday.
"And some of our player leadership, with Jose (Ramirez) just kind of instilling that belief that we can go out there and beat anybody and hang with anybody."
The Mets have lost seven of their last eight to fall to 11-13 since July 6. New York is 2 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies -- its largest deficit since May 24 -- and three games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds, who are the first team outside an NL playoff position.
The back-to-back losses to the Guardians particularly have been frustrating for the Mets. They overcame a five-run deficit Monday but left the bases loaded in the ninth inning before Luis Torrens, representing the potential winning run, flied out to the warning track to end a 7-6, 10-inning loss.
Five of the Mets' first nine batters reached base on Tuesday, when New York led 2-0 before Guardians second baseman Brayan Rocchio robbed Francisco Lindor of a likely two-run hit and began an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play in the second. New York got just one runner beyond first base the rest of the night.
"I really believe in this offense and this team," Mets left fielder Brandon Nimmo said. "You're going to have times where things are really tough, but you've got to just keep grinding and keep giving it your best each day."
Neither Williams nor Peterson factored into the decision in their most recent starts on Friday. Williams tossed six scoreless innings in the Guardians' 3-2, 10-inning win over the Minnesota Twins, while Peterson gave up two runs over six innings as the Mets fell to the San Francisco Giants 4-3 in 10 innings.
Both pitchers will be facing their Wednesday opponent for the first time.
--Field Level Media
