Young (kinder)Guardians quickly developing into contenders

By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer

CLEVELAND (AP) — Baseball’s youngest team, the Cleveland Guardians are growing up quickly. They hit the All-Star break at 46-44 and just two games behind first-place Minnesota in the AL Central. This was supposed to be a season of development. But the Guardians are contending despite a soggy first half in which they had nine home games postponed by rain. Manager Terry Francona has been invigorated by his team’s youth, and the 63-year-old’s health is good after missing most of the past two seasons. An 11-game road trip to start the unofficial second half could determine whether Cleveland is active at the trade deadline.