The Guardians are taking an unconventional path for Game 4, and they’re doing it with a pitcher who has suddenly become one of their most reliable arms in October.
Cleveland will hand the ball to Shawn Armstrong on Friday night in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, with first pitch set for 8 pm ET in Cleveland. The Rays had already lined up right-hander Nick Martinez for the matchup, but the Guardians waited until Friday morning to settle on their choice.
“Shawn Armstrong will start/open for the Guardians tonight in Game 4,” MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins, who covers the Guardians on a daily basis, posted.
Armstrong’s regular season was uneven. He dealt with injuries and didn’t come close to matching the expectations attached to him, finishing with a 4.58 ERA after posting a 2.31 mark in Texas a year earlier.
The postseason has looked a lot different.
After working through a calf strain late in the year, Armstrong has thrown 5.1 scoreless innings in the 2026 playoffs. He has not issued a walk and has struck out five, giving Cleveland exactly the kind of sharp, efficient work it needed at this point in the series.
That said, this isn’t a traditional start in the usual sense. Armstrong is being used as an opener, which means he likely won’t go much beyond an inning or two. The Guardians are expected to pair him with a bulk reliever or another bullpen-heavy plan from there.
If Cleveland wants more length behind him, Joey Cantillo and Tanner Bibee are among the options.
The Guardians enter Game 4 with a 2-1 edge in the series after winning Game 3 on Thursday behind Gavin Williams and a strong effort from the bullpen. Fans at Progressive Field also got Petey Halpin’s career-defining moment in that win.
There is also a chance rain could force a change, but for now the game remains on schedule. A win on Friday night would move Cleveland much closer to the World Series.
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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 🡒]
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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 🡒]
Guardians Face A Pivotal Game 4 Twist With The ALCS In Reach
Major League Baseball has shifted the start of Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field to 8:08 p.m., and the Guardians now know exactly how the next step in this series will begin. Cleveland goes into the night with a 2-1 lead over Tampa Bay, putting itself in position to seize a 3-1 advantage in the best-of-seven format and move one step closer to the pennant.
The pitching wrinkle adds another layer to an already pivotal matchup, with right-hander Shawn Armstrong set to start for Cleveland against Rays right-hander Nick Martinez. For a club that has spent this series trying to keep control of the matchup, the altered schedule and the announced starting assignment only sharpen the focus on a game that could tilt the ALCS in a major way. [Read more 🡒]