The Wild Card Series offered a pretty clear reminder that postseason pitching plans can turn messy fast. Some clubs are willing to ride a starter deep into the night - the Phillies and Yankees both let Cristopher Sánchez and Cam Schlittler get past 115 pitches in their outings.
Others barely let the starter settle in. In Astros-White Sox, only one pitcher topped 55 pitches, and in the Yankees-Red Sox finale, Sonny Gray was lifted in the fifth inning after just 70 pitches.
That Gray decision didn’t land quietly. It wasn’t quite in the same lane as Kevin Cash pulling Blake Snell in the 2020 World Series, but it was enough to bring out Gray’s blunt response that he wished the Red Sox would have “lived and died” by him.
Cleveland hasn’t had to make that kind of call in the Wild Card round, but the Guardians are heading toward a similar crossroads in the ALDS. At some point, Stephen Vogt is going to have to decide whether to stay with a starter or go to the bullpen, and that choice can turn into everything from a talking point to a full-blown postseason storyline.
The Guardians have already shown what that instinct looks like in the last two Octobers. In 2024, the only time a Cleveland pitcher reached the fifth inning came in Game 5 of the ALCS, when Tanner Bibee worked 5 2/3 innings. Last year, Bibee went 4 2/3 innings in his Wild Card Series start against the Tigers, while Gavin Williams lasted six innings in Game 1.
Williams’ outing was notable for another reason: it was the first time a Guardians starter had gone six innings in the postseason since Triston McKenzie did it against the Rays in the 2022 Wild Card Series, a day after Shane Bieber went seven.
A big reason Vogt has been quick to the bullpen is simple enough. He’s had real weapons back there.
In 2024, Cade Smith could be summoned almost whenever needed with Emmanuel Clase waiting at the back end. Last year, with Clase suspended, the bullpen worked more as a committee.
That setup looks familiar this year. Smith is still the clear closer, but the rest of the relief group has that same committee feel.
Even so, Smith’s September usage hinted at how Cleveland might deploy him now. He covered multiple innings in four of his appearances last month, so while he probably won’t be asked to handle three innings the way Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly tried with Jhoan Duran in Game 1 of their Wild Card Series against the Braves, it would not be a shock if Smith enters before the ninth.
For now, the Guardians know their ALDS rotation pieces for the first two games: Gavin Williams and Parker Messick. Both have already shown they can handle a workload. Messick closed the regular season by throwing 90 or more pitches in 10 of his last 11 starts, not counting his final tune-up, while Williams reached at least 89 pitches in 10 of his last 12 starts.
So the question isn’t really whether they can take the ball deep. It’s whether Vogt will trust them to do it when the games tighten up. That’s the part that will define this series, and maybe the winter that follows.
In Other News...
Guardians Could Face A Game 1 Lineup Squeeze In ALDS
The White Sox did not follow a standard postseason script in their Wild Card Series against the Astros, leaning on bullpen games and openers before Sean Burke handled four innings in Game 2. That kind of pitching flexibility has become part of their identity in October, and it is expected to carry over into their best-of-five ALDS matchup with the Guardians.
For Cleveland, the wrinkle is less about who starts on the mound than how Chicago chooses to deploy Davis Martin. White Sox manager Will Venable is weighing whether to use him as a conventional starter or ahead of an opener, and that decision could ripple through the Guardians Game 1 planning, especially when it comes to lineup construction and platoon choices. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians First Base Decision Just Got More Interesting For October
Nathaniel Lowe arrived in Cleveland before the trade deadline and quickly gave the Guardians a steadier look at first base over 43 games, even if the bat did not quite match the production he had shown with Cincinnati. His offense dipped by traditional measures, but Stephen Vogt has kept pointing to the same qualities that matter in a clubhouse gearing up for the stretch run: a professional approach, veteran presence and enough lineup stability to help the Guardians keep moving.
The October wrinkle is what makes Lowes role worth watching now. He has driven in 27 runs and offered the kind of dependable presence a playoff team can lean on, yet the lower batting average and wRC+ leave the first-base picture a little more complicated than it looked when he first arrived. As the postseason gets closer, the Guardians still have to decide how much they want that steadiness to define the position if a bigger offensive spark becomes available. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Draw A Dangerous White Sox Team At The Worst Time
The Guardians and White Sox spent the 2026 regular season seeing plenty of each other, meeting 13 times before Cleveland wrapped up the division on the penultimate day. Now the rivals are right back together in the ALDS, and this time the setting shifts to Progressive Field, where the Guardians will try to turn home-field advantage into an early edge in a matchup that already carries plenty of familiarity.
Chicago arrives with real momentum after sweeping the Astros in the Wild Card Series, a run that included Chase Meidroths three-run homer in a decisive moment. For Cleveland, that makes the timing of this draw a little less than ideal, because the White Sox are not just a division foe the Guardians know well - theyre a club that has just shown it can carry that confidence deep into October. [Read more 🡒]