The Guardians have been given a gift by the AL Central in the form of a second chance

The Guardians' contemporaries in the American League Central have given them a gift. And after two months of treading water, the Guardians are in a better spot to make it all count.

Cleveland's resume through the end of May wasn't ideal.

Through the first two months of the 2023 season, the Guardians sported statistically MLB's worst offense. Forty percent of the rotation missed most of that stretch. The back end of the bullpen has either been a bit shakier than in the past or fallen off the rails, depending on who you're talking about.

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And, yet, because of a mediocre showing by the AL Central, and specifically the Minnesota Twins, the Guardians are only a few games — 3.5 after Sunday's 2-1 win — out of first place. After all the games in which stringing together a couple of hits felt like pulling teeth in a medieval dentist's office, the Guardians could, technically, be in first place by the end of the week.

If they were in the AL East or AL West, their season — in terms of any postseason hopes — would be just about over, or at least nearing its end without an immediate hot streak. They'd be 12 games behind and in fifth place in the West. They'd be 14.5 games behind and in last (sixth) in the East.

None of that erases the very real question marks surrounding the current roster. The Guardians have to pull at least a few of the struggling hitters out of that statistical ditch. They lead the league by a wide margin in one-run games, which is a difficult way to survive over the course of a season if every run comes with an exhale and a hope that the slump is over. Jose Ramirez can be a one-man show with the pitching staff delivering like they so often have, but not every night.

As fast as they could pull themselves back into it, a run by the Twins could end all of these possibilities rather quickly if the Guardians' engine still isn't turning over.

They need to find some consistency with the back end of the bullpen, where Emmanuel Clase has been solid but not quite to his normal level — which is, admittedly, a very high bar to reach — Trevor Stephan hasn't built on his strong 2022 season and James Karinchak has been seemingly lost on the mound as of late.

If the Guardians are to make any noise in the American League this season, the lineup has to reach a new gear (or two, or three), and they've been stuck on neutral since opening day.

But the AL Central has offered them a gift of a second chance. The Guardians have the opportunity to bury the first two months of the season and rebound in time to make a run without having to make up a double-digit deficit.

Guardians have shown ability to hit stride in second half of season under Terry Francona

Under manager Terry Francona, Cleveland has had the knack of finding its groove in June, July, August and September, depending on the year. Teams can't win their divisions in March, April and May, but they can be lost.

The Guardians have been given a shortcut back into contention — if they can take advantage of it. The ingredients for a rebound stew are all accounted for.

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The lineup, collectively, almost can't be worse than the first couple months, so any improvement there is a bonus. Any step forward (or back to 2022, depending on how you look at it) from the likes of Steven Kwan, Andres Gimenez or others might be enough to at least begin that climb.

Starting pitchers Triston McKenzie and Aaron Civale both returned from the injured list over the weekend series in Minnesota and fired five scoreless innings. For McKenzie, it was an electric 2023 debut in which he became the third Guardians pitcher since 1988 to strike out at least 10 hitters in fewer than 80 pitches, joining Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger. For Civale, it was a continuance of a great beginning to his season before he was sidelined.

Those two combine with Shane Bieber and two rookies who have both been fantastic — Tanner Bibee and Logan Allen — to form a strong rotation that is without the two members who have struggled mightily — Cal Quantrill (on the injured list) and Zach Plesac (who has designated for assignment).

In the bullpen, the struggles of Karinchak and Trevor Stephan have been softened by the emergences of Enyel De Los Santos (which began last season) and Xzavion Curry.

The Guardians have much to figure out. If the lineup doesn't recover, they could still be sellers at the deadline, even in such a winnable division. But they've been gifted a much easier road back into a potential playoff spot than would be the case in almost any other situation.

All they have to do is unwrap it.

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians given gift by Twins: AL Central in 2023 race