The Cleveland Guardians still haven’t settled on a Game 6 pitching plan, and the most obvious name may already be off the table.
Gavin Williams, who threw Thursday’s Game 3 win, doesn’t appear to be an option for Cleveland as it tries to avoid elimination against the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS. That outing was a big one for Williams - he set Cleveland franchise history with nine strikeouts in five innings - but Sunday night’s postgame left the Guardians sorting through other possibilities instead of locking in their Game 3 hero.
The concern with Williams goes beyond simple rest. His fastball velocity fell sharply as that start progressed, dropping to 95.4 mph over his five innings after reaching 99.7 mph earlier in the game.
That matters for Cleveland because his fastball is the pitch that drives everything else. When that heater isn’t right, the curveball loses some of its bite.
If the Guardians somehow push this series to Game 7, Williams could be in play for Tuesday. But for Monday, the picture is murkier.
Manager Stephen Vogt has a few paths he can take, and none of them come with much certainty. Daniel Espino has had success working as an opener and did not pitch in Sunday’s Game 5 loss. Joey Cantillo and Foster Griffin are also options to cover innings, with Griffin having pitched on Saturday but likely not enough to keep him out of the mix Monday.
Then there’s Tanner Bibee, who has not appeared in the ALCS and has thrown only one-third of an inning in the ALDS against the Chicago White Sox. The question is whether Cleveland will turn to its highest-paid pitcher with its season hanging in the balance.
The likeliest answer is a patchwork approach, with Cleveland leaning on some combination of Espino, Griffin, Cantillo and maybe Bibee before handing the game to the group Vogt trusts most: Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith.
In Other News...
Guardians Loss May Have Quietly Set Up The Rest Of This Series
The Guardians did enough early to make Game 4 feel like a chance to even the ALCS, but the game slipped away once the Rays pushed across runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Even so, the loss may not have been as damaging as it first looked, because Cleveland managed to avoid leaning too heavily on the bullpen and preserve its most important relief arms for the rest of the series.
That matters with the matchup still hanging in the balance, especially after Tampa Bay also went through several pitchers in the same game. Both clubs now have some moving pieces to sort through on the mound, and the way each staff is managed over the next few days could end up shaping the rest of the series just as much as the score from Game 4. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Face A Real October Decision On Travis Bazzana
Travis Bazzana has given the Guardians enough at the plate to keep his name in the lineup conversation, but the glove has made things a little less straightforward as October has worn on. The rookie second baseman has flashed real offensive value, yet his seven errors at the position have become hard to ignore, and the latest reminder came in a recent game against the Rays.
Stephen Vogt has already shown he is willing to make a late-game switch at second, turning to Angel Genao in postseason situations to tighten things up defensively. So the question hanging over Cleveland is a familiar one for any contender with a young infielder in the spotlight: how much offense can they afford to keep in the lineup if the defense keeps giving away outs? [Read more 🡒]
Travis Bazzana May Have Just Changed Cleveland's ALCS Outlook
Travis Bazzana delivered his best postseason game yet in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, reaching base three times against the Tampa Bay Rays and giving Cleveland a jolt when it needed one. The rookie second baseman finished with a home run, a walk, a run scored and an RBI, and his first career playoff homer helped spark a rally even in a loss.
For a Guardians lineup that has been searching for steady production in a tight series, Bazzana's timing mattered almost as much as the box score. Cleveland did not finish the job, but the performance helped level the matchup at two games apiece and hinted at a player who may be starting to settle into the postseason stage at exactly the right time. [Read more 🡒]