The Guardians pulled out of a 10-game nosedive with an improbable three-game sweep of the Astros on July 7-9 and then opened their four-game series with the White Sox by splitting a day-night doubleheader July 11.

The 5-4 loss to the White Sox in 11 innings in the nightcap notwithstanding, the mood in the Cleveland clubhouse is much happier these days. As starting pitcher Ben Lively said earlier in the season, it’s much better to hear the music.

Lively, currently recovering from reconstructive right elbow surgery, was referring to the sounds blasting through the loudspeakers in the clubhouse when the Guardians win. By contrast, it is as silent as an empty cave when they lose as players dress quickly to head home.

The All-Star break begins July 14. The season for the Guardians resumes July 18 with three games against the Athletics followed by four with the Orioles. All seven games are at Progressive Field. After three games in Kansas City, the Guardians return to Progressive Field for three with the Rockies.

The White Sox are last in the A.L. Central, the Athletics last in the A.L. West, the Orioles last in the A.L. East and the Rockies last in the N.L. West. The Royals are one of the teams the Guardians are chasing for a wild-card playoff spot.

If the Guardians are going to jump back into the playoff race, now is the time to do it.

“It should sting,” starting pitcher Slade Cecconi said July 4 after a 2-1 loss to the Tigers extended Cleveland’s losing streak to eight games. “It should hurt. And if you feel that pain and you know how to channel it, it can lead to great things.

“I’m really looking forward to, at the end of the season, when we look back at this eight-game skid and go, ‘Man, remember how tough that was? Remember how we got through it? Remember how we trusted each other? Remember we showed up the same every day and just kept working?’

“It’s going to pay off. We’re going to see ourselves in a great spot at the end of the season. I fully believe that.”

Manager Stephen Vogt stayed positive throughout the losing streak. His attitude rubbed off on his players.

The Guardians were 7.5 games out of the third wild-card spot before the start of their three-game series in Houston. The deficit is now five games.

And if Cleveland does make it as a wild-card team? It might be a short postseason, because the Guardians are 21-37 (.362) against teams with winning records. Only the White Sox (18-32, .360) and Athletics (16-37, .327) are worse in the American League.

“Doc” White had many talents

Each week this portion of Cleveland Beat features a player from the 19th or 20th century better known by his nickname than his given name.

Dodgers Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale set a Major League record in 1968 by pitching six consecutive shutouts. If you want to bet your buddies a beer at your favorite saloon or are looking for a trivia question, ask them: “Whose record did Drysdale break?”

The answer is Guy Harris White, who in 1904 threw five consecutive shutouts for the Chicago White Stockings. In fact, White was still alive and 88 years old when Drysdale threw his fifth consecutive shutout by beating the Giants, 3-0, on May 31, 1968.

While the Dodgers were celebrating in their clubhouse, Drysdale received a telegram. It was from White, congratulating Drysdale on tying his record.

“I will be rooting for you to break it,” the telegram read. “It will be a great satisfaction to me to have someone who is a credit to the game break my record.”

Drysdale set a new record four days later in a 5-0 victory over the Pirates. Interestingly, Drysdale was only 14-12 in 1968.

White, 6-foot-1, weighed only 150 pounds. He was nicknamed “Doc” because he earned a degree in dentistry from Georgetown in 1902 after his second season in the majors. He had a dental practice in the offseason until 1908. He led his church choir and played the piano for his church when he wasn’t playing baseball.

White played two seasons with the Phillies and 11 with the White Sox. He finished with a career record of 189-156 with a 2.39 ERA. He was 27-13 in 1907 and helped the White Sox beat the Cubs in the World Series that year. He allowed only 38 walks in 291 innings.

White died of natural causes at age 89 in 1969.