The Cleveland Guardians are still in the driver’s seat in the AL Championship Series, but Game 4 comes with a simple message: two players have to deliver if they want to push this thing to 3-1.
That starts with Travis Bazzana, whose postseason numbers have lagged behind the rest of Cleveland’s offense. The Guardians have gotten strong production from the lineup overall, but Bazzana hasn’t joined that surge yet.
The former No. 1 draft pick and rookie All-Star is hitting just .148/.233/.222 with a .455 OPS in the playoffs, and he’s managed only four hits in eight games. Two of those hits, at least, went for doubles.
Cleveland does not need Bazzana to become the whole offense. It just needs him to be part of it.
If he can do that, the bottom of the order can make life harder for Rays starter Nick Martinez. His defense has held up, but the Guardians are clearly waiting for more damage with the bat.
For Saturday, that’s the assignment.
Then there’s Shawn Armstrong, who gets the ball first and carries a different kind of pressure. Cleveland can’t afford to walk into the game already buried. A quick hole against Tampa Bay’s pitching would make the whole night much harder to manage, so Armstrong’s job is to keep the Rays off the board and hand things over cleanly in the second inning.
That has become a real strength in October. Armstrong didn’t have a great regular season, finishing with a 4.58 ERA, but he’s been a different pitcher in the playoffs.
He’s thrown 5.1 innings this postseason without allowing a run, striking out five, walking none, and giving up just one hit. In his career postseason work, he has 7.2 scoreless innings with no walks.
For Cleveland, the formula is straightforward: Bazzana needs to help the offense keep rolling, and Armstrong needs to keep the game from slipping early. If both show up, the Guardians give themselves a very real chance to take control of the series.
In Other News...
Guardians Put Their Trust In A Risky ALCS Game 4 Plan
Rain has already pushed back Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, but the delay only adds another layer to a night Cleveland was preparing to approach in a different way. With a 2-1 series lead over Tampa Bay, the Guardians were set to turn to a bullpen game, with Shawn Armstrong lined up as the opener in a plan that asks a lot from the staff and gives the series a different look at a critical moment.
Tanner Bibee sounded comfortable with the arrangement before the game, pointing to the confidence the Guardians have in their pitching group. It is the kind of move teams usually reserve for a spot where they believe the matchups and depth can hold up, but it also leaves little margin if the game turns into a long grind once the tarp comes off and the first pitch finally gets thrown. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Turn To Unconventional Game 4 Plan With ALCS Momentum Rising
With Cleveland up two games to one in the American League Championship Series, the next step in this matchup is coming with a twist. The Guardians announced Shawn Armstrong will open Game 4 before handing things off to a bulk reliever, a setup that reflects how confidently the pitching plan is being managed as the series shifts back to Cleveland. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, is set to counter with Nick Martinez in Friday nights game, scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
It is the kind of postseason decision that can change quickly if the weather gets involved, too. Rain is in the forecast, which adds another layer of uncertainty to a game already carrying plenty of weight for the Guardians, who have a chance to push their momentum even further on home turf. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Bullpen Outlook Just Shifted Around Colin Holderman
Colin Holdermans status is the latest bullpen note to settle in around the Guardians, and it is a significant one. The reliever recently underwent surgery on his right wrist to address recurring tendinitis, leaving Cleveland to plan for life without one of the arms it had viewed as an important part of the relief mix going forward.
Holderman had already been sidelined for the past month with the injury, and the timeline now stretches much farther than a short-term fix. The expectation is that he will be ready for the 2027 season and spring training, which gives the Guardians plenty of time to adjust in the meantime but also leaves a sizable gap in the bullpen picture until then. [Read more 🡒]