The Cleveland Guardians had a plan. They had concocted their pitching arrangement for Game 4 of the ALCS on Friday night.
And then it rained, and it rained, and it rained some more. It was a washout in Cleveland.
After a delay, MLB officially postponed Game 4.
Game 4 will now be played on Saturday, and the originally scheduled-for-Saturday Game 5 will be moved to Sunday, which had been slated as an off day for this series.
The Tampa Bay Rays will take on the Guardians for those two games in Cleveland before potentially going back to the Rays’ Tropicana Field for Games 6 and 7 on Monday and Tuesday, if necessary.
For the Guardians to make a return trip to ‘The Trop’ a moot point, they have to win Games 4 and 5 in Cleveland.
They’ll start that by putting out a good pitching plan for Saturday’s newly scheduled Game 4.
Turns out, they aren’t changing much.
Who is Starting Game 4 for Guardians?
The Guardians are still going to start Shawn Armstrong on Saturday.
The plan was to start the relief pitcher on Friday night, and they’ll stick with that opener plan for Saturday.
The most likely bulk guy after Armstrong is Tanner Bibee, although the extra day could likely get Foster Griffin involved in that role, too.
But it’ll be the veteran Armstrong on the mound first.
Who is Shawn Armstrong?
Armstrong is a 6-foot-2 right-handed relief pitcher who turned 36 years old in September.
He grew up in North Carolina and attended East Carolina University. Interestingly, he was actually drafted by the then-Indians in the 18th round of the 2011 MLB Draft.
Armstrong did make his MLB debut with Cleveland and pitched parts of three seasons on the shores of Lake Erie before beginning a journeyman career.
Cleveland traded Armstrong to the Seattle Mariners in December 2017 for international bonus slot money.
The Baltimore Orioles claimed Armstrong off waivers from the Orioles in April 2019.
The Tampa Bay Rays bought Armstrong’s contract from the Orioles in July 2021.
In free agency after the 2021 season, Armstrong signed with the Miami Marlins. They released him in May 2022, and he signed with the Rays.
The Rays traded him in July 2024 to the St. Louis Cardinals for Dylan Carlson.
The Cardinals waived him exactly one month later, and the Chicago Cubs claimed him.
Armstrong then signed in free agency after the 2024 season with the Texas Rangers before signing in free agency after 2025 with the Guardians.
Shawn Armstrong Stats
Armstrong has pitched in 411 MLB games, only 18 of them starts.
He has a career 3.88 ERA with 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
This season for Cleveland, Armstrong appeared in 41 games, none as starts, and had a 4.58 ERA. He struck out 8.7 batters per nine but did walk 4.8 batters per nine.
In these playoffs, Armstrong has pitched 5.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts, allowing just one hit.
Armstrong has had success against the top of the Rays’ order. Yandy Diaz is 0-for-5, Jonathan Aranda is 0-for-1 and Junior Caminero is 0-for-2.
The Guardians will hope that continues on Saturday night in Cleveland.
How Rainout Changes Guardians’ Pitching Plans for ALCS Game 4