Guardians heading back to the postseason, but the job isn’t done just yet

BOSTON (AP) — Jo Adell isn’t much of a sparkling wine guy.

“I am tonight,” said the outfielder with a smile from inside a joyous visitors’ clubhouse at Fenway Park on Thursday night as the Cleveland Guardians celebrated after earning their third straight trip to the playoffs with a 1-0 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Acquired by Cleveland from the Los Angeles Angels in advance of the trade deadline, the power-hitting Adell is heading to the postseason for the first time in his seven-year MLB career.

While it’s becoming a familiar refrain, seeing the Guardians play meaningful games in October, manager Stephen Vogt specifically noted Adell as one of the cool developments of the franchise’s latest postseason clincher.

“What I love is that we have a number of guys who have never been in this position, playing meaningful games in September or playoff baseball,” Vogt said. “It’s just so fun to watch Jo Adell celebrate. To me, that’s so special. He’s been a great player in this league and I’m excited to watch what he’s doing to do.”

The Guardians were 57-56 when they traded for Adell and trailed the Chicago White Sox by three games in AL Central. Chicago is also postseason-bound after defeating the Kansas City Royals 9-1 earlier Thursday.

“The Champagne is burning my eyes, and that’s a good thing,” said Adell, who has 22 home runs and 93 RBIs this season. “When I came here, I was so psyched with the ability to be who I am and help this team make a push to this point. We’ve had a lot of games where we’ve had to grind and try to figure it out, but to win a 1-0 game with the pitching performances we got is amazing.”

What does it mean to lead a team to three consecutive trips to MLB’s second season?

“Our fans get to watch playoff baseball. This is why we play. We play for our fans and we’re proud that we’re going again,” Vogt said.

A year ago, Cleveland rode a 20-8 record in September to earn an invite to the postseason. After Angel Martínez homered for the game’s lone run on Thursday and All-Star closer Cade Smith struck out the side in the ninth inning for his MLB-best 41st save, the Guardians improved to 14-8 this month with three games remaining.

“I think we’ve been positioned all three years, but with our pitching and our lineup, we have the opportunity to hit with people (in scoring position). That hasn’t always been the case. I really like the way this offense has been clicking over the last couple of months, and we’re pitching well,” Vogt said. “You got hot at the right time, and this team is getting hot in September.”

The postseason berth might be secured, but the AL Central is still up for grabs. Cleveland heads into the final series of the regular season with a one-game lead over Chicago. The Guardians will play three games at Kansas City while the White Sox host the Colorado Rockies.

The winner of the Central will clinch the No. 2 seed in the American League bracket and won’t have to worry about the best-of-three Wild Card Series.

“We’re not done,” Adell said.

“One pitch at a time, one day at a time,” Martínez said. “Right now, it’s about enjoying. Tomorrow is another day.”

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