Guardians fall in power rankings as offense misses its star bats

Guardians fall in power rankings as offense misses its star bats originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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While the Cleveland Guardians have been near or at the top of the division all season long, they lost some big pieces a little over a week ago. 

During the June 13 game against the Detroit Tigers, the Guardians lost Jose Ramirez to a fractured left hamate bone, Angel Martinez to a fractured left foot, and Chase DeLauter after he fractured a rib. 

Last week was the first time this club was without all three, and it certainly showed. They struggled to get much of anything going, but they were up against some stiff competition. 

MORE: Rockies’ ‘intriguing’ trade candidate is perfect deadline target for Guardians

Guardians fall in power rankings as offense misses its stars

The Guardians faced the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers earlier in the week. They could only muster one win in the three-game series on the road, moving on to another road matchup against the Houston Astros. 

It was the same result here as well, as Cleveland could only grab one win, making for a losing week. 

With this, Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter has bumped them down a few spots, from No. 8 to No. 11 in his latest power rankings. 

“The Guardians lost Jose Ramirez, Chase DeLauter and Angel Ramirez all to injury two weeks ago, and their first week without them in the lineup did not go well. They scored 21 runs in six games, with eight of those coming in Saturday’s win over the Astros.”

The offense has surely taken a hit, and while they woke up a bit on Monday in the first of a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, who they are neck-and-neck with in the division, they still lost 6-5. They will look to get that back on Tuesday before returning home to take on the Seattle Mariners, who have also fallen a few spots in the rankings after a .500 week. 

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