What was once a long shot became a chance, and is now a likelihood.

State of play: The Guardians enter today tied for the final wild card spot in the American League, five games ahead of the Texas Rangers.

• Cleveland is also now just a game back of the Tigers in the AL Central, with a three-game series against Detroit kicking off tonight at Progressive Field.

The intrigue: The Guards ended the month of August with a record of 68-67 and were 10.5 games back of the Tigers.

• Driven by exceptional starting pitching, the Guardians are now 84-72 and just had a 10-game winning streak snapped by the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Flashback: The latest run is reminiscent of 2022, when Cleveland was counted out before going 16-2 in a September stretch to run away with the AL Central.

• The Guardians would eventually lose a tight AL Division Series to the Yankees that year.

What's next: Cleveland controls its own destiny with three games each against the Tigers and Rangers to close out the regular season.

• ESPN gives the Guardians a 65% chance of making the playoffs and a 45% chance of clinching the division.

What they're saying: "Our boys are going to be ready to play," manager Stephen Vogt said.

• "We would love to see as many fans as possible. The boys are ready, we know what's at stake, and it's going to be a lot of fun."

How to watch: Tickets for Tuesday's game start at $15.

• The game will stream on CleGuardians.TV and is locally available on AT&T U-verse, Cox, DirecTV, Spectrum and FuboTV.

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport will add a daily nonstop flight to Montreal next May.

Why it matters: Montreal joins an eclectic roster of direct international destinations from Hopkins, including Cancun, Punta Cana, Dublin and Toronto.

Zoom in: Air Canada will operate the new route, which will depart Cleveland daily at 2:45pm and arrive in Montreal at 4:23pm.

• The return flight leaves Montreal at 4:30pm and arrives in Cleveland at 6:11pm.

What they're saying: Hopkins director Bryant Francis called the move "a great compliment" to Air Canada's existing Toronto route in a statement, while Air Canada touted Montreal as a food and culture destination.

• Montreal is also an international hub that links Cleveland travelers to destinations across Europe and North Africa, including Geneva, Milan, and Casablanca.

🤖 A new pilot program set to launch next year in Ohio will use AI to recommend if certain health care treatments are necessary for Medicare recipients. (Signal Cleveland)

🦏 An Eastern black rhinoceros calf was born Sept. 13 at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. (X)

🏀 Atlanta Dream forward Naz Hillmon, who was born in Cleveland and starred at Gilmour Academy, has been named the 2025 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year. (ESPN)

🐘 Former Ohio State Sen. Kevin Coughlin — who's running for Congress in Ohio's 13th District, currently represented by Emilia Sykes — has disparaged the influence of lobbyists, but was himself a registered Ohio lobbyist from 2012 to 2016. (Mother Jones)

Signal Ohio leadership has agreed to voluntarily recognize its newsroom union.

Why it matters: The journalists who launched the union drive last month argue this will pave the way for stronger collaboration around the nonprofit outlet's civic mission.

Catch up quick: Signal, which operates newsrooms in Cleveland and Akron along with a statehouse bureau in Columbus, launched three years ago as an alternative to shrinking legacy outlets.

• The reporters say unionizing will help ensure sustainable, high-quality coverage as the organization expands. A Cincinnati bureau is expected to open later this year.

The latest: The Signal Ohio News Workers Guild announced on social media this past weekend that management will recognize all 14 full-time reporters as one bargaining unit.

• The organization previously conveyed through a law firm that it would recognize the union, but only if it were split into three units.

What they're saying: "We're ecstatic to share Signal Ohio's leadership chose to voluntarily recognize us as one Signal, one union," the guild wrote, thanking supporters for a wave of donations, petition signatures and public pressure.

The other side: CEO Rita McNeil Danish and board president Doug Ulman previously told Axios they were committed to "open, respectful conversations" as negotiations began.

• They have not yet responded to a request for comment about the union recognition.

What's next: Guild members say they're preparing to bargain their first contract.

The Browns' big Week 3 upset of the Green Bay Packers provided plenty of fun submissions in our weekly caption contest.

State of play: Not surprisingly, a lot of you played on the last name of kicker Andre Szmyt, who hit the game-winning field goal as time expired.

• The top caption comes from Aaron Bill: "No longer a pile of Dawg Szmyt."

What's next: Things remain tough for Cleveland as the team heads to Detroit to take on the Lions at 1pm Sunday.