The first pitch for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series in Cleveland is coming earlier than planned.
With weather expected to move through Cleveland on Thursday, the Guardians and MLB pushed the start time up to 1 PM ET, a change announced Wednesday. Gates at Progressive Field will open at 11 AM ET. The game had originally been set for 6 PM ET.
The matchup arrives with the series tied at one game apiece and plenty still to sort out. Tampa Bay came in as the heavy favorite, but Cleveland has already shown it can make this a fight.
Game 1 gave the Guardians the kind of road win that changes a series. Cleveland rolled to a 7-3 victory, with Jose Ramirez leading the way in what felt like a clear statement from the club.
Tampa Bay answered in Game 2. On Tuesday, a Ramirez error helped swing things back the Rays’ way, and the Rays pulled out a 3-1 win to knot the series.
Even with that setback, the Guardians have to feel good about heading home with a split after the opening two games. Now the series shifts to Cleveland for the next three matchups.
Gavin Williams, who has been stellar in the MLB playoffs up to this point, is a candidate to start Game 3. Cleveland has not officially announced its starter.
And that makes Thursday’s game a big one. Whoever takes a 2-1 lead will grab a major edge, especially with the schedule now compressed by the weather-related change.
In Other News...
Guardians' Most Painful Trade Looks Even Worse After New Report
The 2021 swap that sent Junior Caminero from Cleveland to Tampa Bay has long lingered as one of the organizations toughest second guesses, and fresh reporting only adds another layer to the regret. The Guardians moved the then-rising prospect for pitcher Tobias Myers, a deal made with the hope of solving a pitching need while parting with a young hitter who was still far from the majors.
Now the sting is not just what Cleveland gave up, but how close the Rays came to asking for something else from the system before settling on Caminero. Xzavion Curry was among the minor leaguers Tampa Bay initially sought, and the fact that Caminero has developed into a top prospect while Myers and Curry have had quieter big league careers makes the trade look even harder to defend in hindsight. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Schedule Change Created An Unusual MLB Playoff Ripple
MLBs postseason calendar picked up an odd little domino effect Wednesday, with the league moving Game 4 of the NLCS between the Dodgers and Brewers up an hour to 8 p.m. ET. The change did not come out of nowhere. It followed the earlier decision to shift ALCS Game 3 between the Guardians and Rays from 6 p.m. ET to 1 p.m. ET because of expected inclement weather, a reminder of how one playoff adjustment can ripple across the rest of the bracket.
For Cleveland fans, the practical part is simple: the team confirmed that tickets and parking passes will still work for the new start time. The bigger picture is a postseason schedule that can still bend quickly around weather, TV and the rest of the leagues needs, even as the Guardians try to stay focused on the field rather than the clock. [Read more 🡒]
Gavin Williams Is Giving Guardians Fans Another Reason To Believe
Gavin Williams has already done his share to fuel Clevelands October run, and now he is looking to add something else to the mix as the Guardians head into the next round. The young starting pitcher said he wants to be a more vocal leader as the club prepares for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, a sign of how quickly he has grown from power arm to one of the voices in the room.
Williams backed up that confidence with his latest outing, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts in the series-clinching win over the Chicago White Sox. Cleveland now turns to a Game 3 matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays, set for 1 PM ET Thursday after a weather-related delay from the original 6 PM start, and the Guardians will be hoping their emerging starter brings the same edge both on the mound and in the clubhouse. [Read more 🡒]