The Cleveland Guardians will face the Chicago White Sox in the upcoming American League Division Series, starting on Saturday. It’s a best-of-five affair, which means whoever wins three games first will earn the right to fight for the pennant in the junior circuit.
The White Sox and Guardians are essentially evenly matched. The former carry a significant advantage in the power department, but the latter boasts a superior pitching staff and intends to leverage that into a ticket for the League Championship Series.
With that in mind, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt made it official: he will use his two best starters in the first two games in Cleveland.
“Stephen Vogt said the Guardians will go with Parker Messick in Game 1 and Gavin Williams in Game 2 of the ALDS,” team insider Tim Stebbins said on Thursday.
Stephen Vogt said the Guardians will go with Parker Messick in Game 1 and Gavin Williams in Game 2 of the ALDS.
— Tim Stebbins (@tim_stebbins) October 1, 2026
Messick and Williams are quite easily the Guardians’ two best starting pitchers. The former is a legitimate AL Rookie of the Year candidate and should be an AL Cy Young Award finalist, too, at the very least. He put together an impressive campaign with a 2.56 ERA and 193 strikeouts.
Williams, on the other hand, didn’t have a particularly low ERA, although it wasn’t bad at 3.76. His primary trait as a starter, however, is his uncanny ability to strike people out, which comes in handy in postseason baseball: the less contact a pitcher allows, the better.
Williams led the American League with 248 strikeouts and ranked second in MLB behind Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski. He is the Guardians’ best bet to completely shut down a lineup and pitch into the seventh or eighth frame.
The two aces have been dominating all year and represent the Guardians’ best bets to take the series to Chicago with a 2-0 lead. They will have a capable collection of hitters in front of them, though.
The White Sox took the season series 7-6 and fought for the AL Central with the Guardians until the very end. It will be an exciting clash between two exciting squads with youth on their side.
Guardians fans hope Messick and Williams can resemble the pitchers they have been from March to September at the biggest stage of all: the postseason.
NEXT: Stephen Vogt Is Excited For Nathaniel Lowe's Postseason Role
