CLEVELAND — The Guardians are still on the outside looking in when it comes to the American League playoff picture. They’re also arguably the hottest team in baseball with two weeks left to play.

The Guardians entered Sept. 15 at 78-71 and 2.5 games out of a wild card spot. They’ve largely taken care of their own business, winning nine of their last 10 games to remain alive in the race.

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Cleveland’s six-man rotation has put together a tremendous string of outings, including a near-no-hitter by Slade Cecconi and a shutout by Tanner Bibee.

“Yeah, I mean, I went seven no-hit [innings] and threw the third-best game of the week,” Cecconi joked. “How often does that happen?”

Rookie C.J. Kayfus hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning on Sept 12. Then, on Sept. 14, Brayan Rocchio saved a one-run lead with a diving play to end the game.

All of it has the Guardians clinging to their playoff chances.

AL wild card standings, Guardians’ playoff chances

The AL wild card outlook has evolved into a five-horse race for three spots entering Sept. 15.

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The Guardians entered Sept. 15 2.5 games behind the Houston Astros (81-69), who keep flip-flopping with the Seattle Mariners for the AL West lead. The Texas Rangers are right on both teams’ heels at 79-71.

If the season were to end Sept. 15, the loser of that division would hold the final wild card spot after two AL East teams, the New York Yankees (83-65) and the Boston Red Sox (81-68), who dropped three consecutive games.

It leaves the Yankees, Red Sox, Astros (if the Mariners win the division), Rangers and Guardians all vying for the three wild card spots.

Cleveland travels to Detroit for a crucial three-game series. The Tigers still have a commanding 6.5-game lead in the AL Central division. The Guardians could face some difficult pitching matchups as the Tigers look to wrap up the division.

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They’ll then travel to Minnesota for four games against the rebuilding Twins, which could offer an extension for their playoff chances, which FanGraphs has at 12.5%.

Cleveland Guardians schedule for the rest of the 2025 MLB season

Tuesday, Sept. 16: at Detroit Tigers

Wednesday, Sept. 17: at Detroit Tigers

Thursday, Sept. 18: at Detroit Tigers

Friday, Sept. 19: at Minnesota Twins

Saturday, Sept. 20 (Game 1): at Minnesota Twins

Saturday, Sept. 20 (Game 2): at Minnesota Twins

Sunday, Sept. 21: at Minnesota Twins

Tuesday, Sept. 23: vs. Detroit Tigers

Wednesday, Sept. 24: vs. Detroit Tigers

Thursday, Sept. 25: vs. Detroit Tigers

Friday, Sept. 26: vs. Texas Rangers

Saturday, Sept. 27: vs. Texas Rangers

Sunday, Sept. 28: vs. Texas Rangers

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians wild card standings in AL playoffs after sweeping White Sox