The Cleveland Guardians have worked their way back into the playoff conversation over the last week with big wins against some easier opponents.

That’s been the biggest positive for Cleveland as they entered the final quarter of the regular season was that they had the easiest remaining schedule in the MLB. With big series wins over San Francisco, Colorado, and now the Los Angeles Angels, the Guardians are back over .500 and looking to make a run at the AL Central division.

It’s going to take a lot more than just easy opponents if the Guardians hope to not just make it to the playoffs, but to actually make a run if they can get there. Easy opponents just increase the likelihood of securing wins; what Cleveland needs is continued offensive production.

The bats have started to come alive over the last month of their season but have taken a step up further over the last week against their lowly competition. If they want to keep this success up through September, they need their offense to keep up their recent trends.

Here’s how Cleveland’s offense can help them stay hot through the final month of the MLB regular season.

The Guardians top hitters need to keep producing

Cleveland was really struggling throughout the month of June, which was what led them to see themselves slip as far as fourth place in the AL Central. In June, the Guardians had an overall batting average of .218 combined. Fast forward to July and August, their numbers began to improve.

After a few successful outings whether win or lose, Cleveland bumped their team batting average up to .236 and then continued to improve their numbers into August by bumping it up to a .264 team batting average.

Their post All-Star break improvements on offense were much needed, but it didn’t come right away. After the big trade deadline move for Jo Adell, as well as adding veteran slugger Nathaniel Lowe, this offense has transformed. Calling up Angel Genao was a key move as well for Cleveland.

Adell, Lowe, and Genao have all cemented themselves as everyday players in the Guardians’ lineup and are relied on heavily to put runs on the board with their knack for hitting. The resurgence of Steven Kwan was also a turning point for the team.

Kwan had abysmal numbers through the first four months of the season, but July and August were kind to him as he was able to average .403 batting in July and currently has a batting average of .353 in August. His contributions were much needed to turn the season around.

It’s no secret that the Guardians have the talent to be a lethal offense on any given night, the biggest problem they have is leaving runners stranded on the bases. If Cleveland can knock in runs with runners in scoring position more often, they’ll be set up for success in September.