Guardians enter final 9 games tied for AL Central lead, and Stephen Vogt says there's no room for complacency

GuardiansStephen Vogt says every game matters as Guardians battle for postseasonStephen Vogt, Cleveland Guardians.APCLEVELAND, Ohio — Nine games remain in the Guardians’ regular season, and Stephen Vogt isn’t interested in overlooking any of them.That includes three this weekend against an Athletics team that arrives at Progressive Field with 92 losses and nothing to play for in the standings.Cleveland enters Friday at 78-75, tied with the White Sox for the AL Central lead but without the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Guardians also hold a two-game cushion over Toronto and Texas for the final AL wild card spot. Colin Holderman experiences setback in rehab with Triple-A Columbus: Guardians injury updatesGuardians, Athletics starting lineups for Sept. 18, 2026: Game 154The Guardians’ division dreams are on the line — and the math is unforgivingEvery game matters. Vogt expects the A’s to play like it matters to them, too.“Every game is the same for us,” Vogt said. “And I could speak for Mark Kotsay and the A’s that they don’t quit. They love playing spoiler.”Vogt knows the A’s well after spending six seasons of his playing career with the organization. He also knows their record can be misleading.The Athletics were swept in Tampa Bay to begin its road trip but had won eight of 11 before that. The A’s are 12-12 since Aug. 21 after an 11-42 stretch knocked them out of contention. “They’ve got a really good young group,” Vogt said. “They can hit. They can flat out hit and they’ve got some big arms with some really good stuff.”The power is real. The A’s lead the majors with 26 home runs in September. Cleveland has dominated the matchup recently, going 23-6 against the A’s since 2022 and winning eight of the last nine meetings at Progressive Field. The Guardians took two of three in Sacramento earlier this season. None of that matters much now.“I don’t think anybody’s taking anything lightly,” Vogt said. “There’s no hangover effect from the last series (against the White Sox). This is every game for the rest of the year. We’re here to win.”Vogt remembers the feeling from his playing days with the A’s, when September games suddenly carried more weight.“You experience playing winning baseball for the first time at the big league level, it hits you different,” Vogt said. “Your body starts to feel better. The little aches and pains start to go away. You feel the energy of the crowd, you feel the weather changing.”With the Guardians fighting on two postseason fronts, scoreboard watching is unavoidable. Vogt managed to get away from it Thursday, spending the off day golfing and having dinner with his brother and two close friends.“I didn’t pick up my phone yesterday,” Vogt said. “It was awesome.”There won’t be many opportunities to tune everything out over the next 10 days.“As the amount of games start to get down, the elimination numbers start to get smaller, you dial it up and just enjoy every minute because it doesn’t happen every year,” Vogt said. “We don’t take this for granted.”Joe Noga has more than 25 years experience in Cleveland sports media with time spent covering Browns, Cavaliers and Indians/Guardians, as well as local high school and college sports and athletes. He covered a...