Chris Rose thinks the Guardians should make a bold change in Game 4.
With Cleveland facing Thursday night’s win-or-go-home ALDS matchup against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field, the Jomboy Media personality weighed in on the lineup and made a call that will get plenty of attention from Guardians fans: “I would start Halpin over Angel today, regardless of matchups.”
That suggestion cuts against the usual logic, especially with the White Sox planning to open Game 4 with left-hander Hagen Smith. On paper, a switch-hitter like Angel Martinez would normally fit that setup better than the left-handed Halpin.
But Martinez has not given Cleveland much reason to keep running him out there in the series. He has started all three games and enters Game 4 still looking for his first hit, going 0-for-12 with seven strikeouts. That includes an 0-for-4 performance with three strikeouts in Wednesday’s 9-3 Game 3 win.
The regular season tells a different story. Martinez hit .254 with 18 home runs and 62 RBI in 389 at-bats, giving the Guardians a proven bat even if the postseason has been rough so far.
Halpin hasn’t appeared in the playoffs yet, but he did put together a solid regular season of his own. The 24-year-old lefty hit .225 with four home runs, 14 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 178 at-bats in 2026.
Cleveland had not announced its Game 4 lineup when Rose made the recommendation. The expectation was that most of Wednesday’s order would stay in place, with Austin Hedges catching Parker Messick.
The stakes are simple for the Guardians: they trail the best-of-five series 2-1 and need a win Thursday night to force a Game 5 back home on Saturday night. A loss would end their 2026 season.
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Jo Adell has been right in the middle of it, stepping into a lineup that needed someone to lengthen at-bats and change the feel of the series. His impact has given Cleveland a new layer of danger, the kind that can turn a tight October game into one that gets away from an opponent fast. With the Guardians now carrying all the momentum, the question is no longer whether the move helped, but how far it might carry them from here. [Read more 🡒]