CLEVELAND — Momentum in baseball is a fickle thing.

The Guardians had lost it — completely. What was a nine-game lead on June 25 had vanished by Aug. 27, and a backslide seemed imminent. What was a chance to cruise to one of the top two seeds in the American League had turned into a dead-even race, as they were caught by the Kansas City Royals (with the Minnesota Twins also just a step behind).

The Guardians lost both games in Monday's doubleheader, then they dropped Tuesday's rain-delayed game. The Royals had not only tied them in the standings, but Kansas City will now own the tiebreaker as well.

Guardians, Royals, Twins close in the standings

That led to Wednesday's game, which for much of the day had the Guardians heading toward being swept.

The Guardians in July and August have not hit like the Guardians of April, May and June. Then, with first place slipping through their fingers Wednesday afternoon, they found a bit of spring magic to boost the offense during this week's heat wave.

The Guardians rallied, punching back like they had so many times earlier this year, to beat the Royals, retake the lead in the division and allow themselves a day to catch their their breath on Thursday's much-needed, perfectly timed, highly valuable off day.

"The vibes were electric; it's back to what we'd known," said Bo Naylor, who homered in the comeback win. "To be able to get that back was definitely huge and a great step in the right direction."

The Guardians are still swimming against the current as they try to hold off the Royals and Twins over the final month of the season. They're 17-22 since the All-Star break. They've won just four of their previous 13 games.

Triston McKenzie, Myles Straw, more: Who could the Guardians promote when rosters expand?

Manager Stephen Vogt has been steadfast that the time for sweeping, major changes has not yet arrived. The Guardians have wanted to lean into what got them into this position in the first place. After all, they held the best record in baseball for months and have been arguably baseball's biggest surprise team in 2024 outside of the Royals.

On Wednesday, it reappeared in the form of a four-run rally in the seventh that allowed them to keep the divisional lead until least Friday. It's why the club wants to avoid overreacting to this stretch of baseball and look at the season as a whole.

"For me, it's about the end of the season. It doesn't matter how you get there, what matters if that we do," Vogt said. "Yeah, if you want to look back at the standings, you have a big lead that's early in the season. That's why you play 162 games. There's nothing that says in this final stretch that we don't go on a run. There's nothing that says we don't do it again."

Austin Hedges emerges as leader in Guardians clubhouse

The Guardians haven't played as well as they would have hoped since the All-Star break. They're not thrilled to see their lead in the Central vanish. They've also tried to stay the course, understanding that avoiding these types of stints is nearly impossible over a six-month season.

Like they have all year, they have followed Austin Hedges' lead.

"Hedgie does such a good job of that," said veteran reliever Scott Barlow. "But everybody kind of plays a part. … He's definitely kind of the voice, I would say, but everybody here does their part in that aspect."

The Guardians, Royals and Twins have reached the point of the season where just about every game will feel like it carries extra weight. The time for pressing is here, as it's an element of human nature that is nearly unavoidable.

The race for the Central has effectively been reset. The Guardians were able to stop the slide, at least a little bit, for a day. Now the race continues Friday.

"I think everybody presses when this time of year comes," Vogt said. "But for our guys, I don't see it a lot. I think I see a bunch of guys who want to be the guy that stops up and helps their team win and, for me, we've just got to relax and be ourselves. And when you press or when you try to do too much that's when you start to really [swing too big], you start to miss those pitches you normally hit.

"I do think we all just need to take a little step back and exhale and realize where we are, and the opportunity that's in front of us, and go get it tomorrow."

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians standings in 2024 playoff race with Royals, Twins