The Cleveland Guardians have had to play the waiting game this week.
It hasn’t been bad waiting by any means. They have a first-round bye in the American League playoffs straight to the Divisional Round. It’s basically a free jump forward without having to play the Wild Card Series at all.
But it is an odd thing. Baseball teams play pretty much every day all season long. Having a gap of days without games, only to have to come back to play big games immediately, is an unusual thing.
The Guardians surely have worked to keep a level of intensity this week in whatever workouts they’ve done. You don’t want to get rusty or lose your edge.
The good news now is that that time is wrapping up. The Guardians will be back on the field soon enough.
They were waiting for the result of the AL Wild Card Series, a best-of-three, between the Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox. Whichever of those teams won would be coming to Cleveland to open the ALDS on Saturday.
That result is in, and now the Guardians can prep in earnest for their postseason opener.
Who Do Guardians Play Next?
The Guardians will be hosting the White Sox on Saturday as their ALDS opponent.
Chicago dispatched quickly of Houston. The White Sox were on the road for the Wild Card Series because the Astros were the AL West Division champs, even with a worse record. That didn’t stop Chicago from dominating a quick two-game sweep and advancing.
The Guardians and White Sox, of course, are AL Central Division foes. They battled for the division title into the final week of the season. It seems fitting that they would meet again.
The White Sox did win the season series, 7-6, which may tell you this series will be a barnburner. That would make sense, because these teams already know one another so well.
Guardians’ Pitching Plan
Cleveland could really go in any direction with its pitching. That’s what the bye allowed for.
They would’ve had starting pitchers do workouts throughout the week as needed, but they also would’ve done that on a rhythm that made sure they had things lined up just right for Game 1 of the ALDS.
While nothing has been announced, it would seem pretty obvious that the duo of lefty Parker Messick and righty Gavin Williams would be given the ball for the first two games of the series, in some order.
After that, the Guardians have the likes of Tanner Bibee, Foster Griffin and Joey Cantillo — who has been pitching behind an opener recently.
Cleveland’s bullpen is solid and will be well rested, too. The Guardians will certainly be fresh, and they’ll have to hope that’s a good thing.
Guardians Know What’s Next in Playoffs