The Guardians are sticking with a mostly familiar look for Saturday night’s Game 5 against the Chicago White Sox, but there’s one move that stands out.
With everything on the line in the ALDS, Cleveland is rolling out this lineup for the winner-take-all matchup:
Steven Kwan, LF
Jose Ramirez, 3B
Chase DeLauter, RF
Jo Adell, DH
Nathaniel Lowe, 1B
Travis Bazzana, 2B
Patrick Bailey, C
Petey Halpin, CF
Brayan Rocchio, SS
Gavin Williams, SP
There isn’t much drama in most of it. Against right-hander Sean Burke, there was a chance Jo Adell could have been held back and used later against one of Chicago’s top left-handed relievers. But after launching two huge homers already this postseason, Adell is in the lineup where he belongs.
Patrick Bailey is back in after sitting out the first nine in Game 4. He still made his presence felt, though, coming off the bench and opening the scoring with a solo home run. Through the playoffs, Bailey has quietly been one of Cleveland’s most productive bats.
The biggest surprise is Petey Halpin getting the nod in center field, which pushes Angel Martinez out of the starting nine. It’ll be Halpin’s first career postseason start, and Cleveland is clearly leaning on his glove in this matchup. The regular season numbers weren’t loud - he posted a .594 OPS - but the Guardians have seen him come through before.
Halpin was the one who kept Cleveland’s American League Central hopes alive on September 16, when he crushed a three-run homer off Sean Newcomb in a series win over the White Sox during the final week of the year.
Martinez, meanwhile, is the odd man out as the Guardians appear to be riding the hot hand approach in a game that leaves no room for second-guessing.
Now it’s down to whether this group can get the job done and send Cleveland to the ALCS.
In Other News...
Guardians Face A Costly ALDS Dilemma Beyond Just The Rotation
The Guardians ALDS picture has plenty of moving parts, and the biggest ones are not limited to who starts which game. As the series has unfolded, the club has had to think through roster balance, how much pitching it wants to carry, and how the front office and players are viewing the broader landscape around MLBPA contract talks. It is the kind of October problem that goes beyond a single matchup and forces a team to weigh short-term survival against longer-term flexibility.
Gavin Williams added another layer to that conversation with a new role in Game 4, since his first big league relief outing also marked his first time pitching out of the bullpen since college. Cleveland is trying to manage the present while leaving enough options open for what comes next, including the possibility of deeper October decisions if the run continues. And with future labor questions looming in the background, the Guardians are dealing with more than just the usual postseason chess match. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Suddenly Look Dangerous Thanks To One Deadline Gamble
Clevelands offense has gone from quiet to relentless at exactly the right time, and the sudden surge has the Guardians sitting one win from the ALCS after taking Games 3 and 4 from the White Sox. Both of those victories came with nine runs on the board, a striking answer from a club that had been searching for the kind of timely thump that changes a postseason series in a hurry.
Jo Adell, brought in as a recent deadline addition, has been right in the middle of it, giving Cleveland a jolt that has changed the feel of the lineup over just two games. His arrival now looks like the kind of move that can reshape October, and the Guardians will carry that new edge into the next game with a chance to finish the job. [Read more 🡒]
Jose Ramirez May Have Just Saved Cleveland At The Perfect Time
Jose Ramirez has spent much of the season searching for the version of himself Cleveland has leaned on for years, and in Game 4 of the ALDS he finally gave the Guardians a reminder of why he matters so much in October. After working through pain since hamate bone surgery and enduring a difficult offensive stretch, Ramirez kept showing signs of life across the first two playoff games and then added another jolt in a 9-5 win over the White Sox.
The biggest swing came in the fifth inning, when his two-run homer flipped the game and helped Cleveland protect its season for at least one more night. With the series now headed to a decisive Game 5 at Progressive Field, the Guardians suddenly have reason to believe Ramirez may be heating up at exactly the right time, and that changes the feel of everything around them. [Read more 🡒]