The Red Sox will enter Friday's series opener as the AL's second wild card team, a game up on the Tigers and Guardians (who are tied atop the AL Central) and two games ahead of th

What seemed impossible just weeks ago is now true: the Guardians are the favorites in the American League Central.

As the first two matchups between Detroit and Cleveland have come and passed week, the Guardians continue to pull off a miraculous division comeback. They claimed a 5-2 win against Tarik Skubal on Tuesday night, putting themselves tied in record with Detroit, then beat the Tigers again 5-1 on Wednesday.

The Guardians seek a second straight trip to the MLB playoffs. Here's where they sit in the the AL Central Division and AL wild card standings.

This year has been filled with plenty of ups and downs for Cleveland. At one point in time, the Guardians were 15.5 games back from first in the division standings. That 15.5-game deficit being erased to tie or take the division lead is the largest comeback of its kind since 1969.

The drama in the American League Central is hitting its peak. After owning as much as a 14-game lead this season, and 9.5 games to start September, the Tigers are officially in second place in the division. The Guardians will still have work to do, but for now, they are responsible for an enormous comeback in the standings.

If the Cleveland Guardians wind up pulling off a baseball miracle and winning the American League Central this season, then the sixth inning of Tuesday's win over the Detroit Tigers will be remembered for a number of reasons -- all of them good, from the Cleveland standpoint, save for one scary moment involving David Fry.

For much of the summer, the Tigers looked all but certain to win the American League Central. But as the regular season nears its end, the Guardians have improbably surged back into the race. - Playoff picture: Bracket,