The Cleveland Guardians are one win away from their second American League Championship Series appearance in the last three years, after their 2024 matchup with the New York Yankees. It all comes down to one game: if they can beat the Chicago White Sox on Saturday’s Game 5, they will earn the right to fight with the Tampa Bay Rays for the American League pennant.
Of course, if they lose, they will go home and start a long and potentially tedious offseason. Progressive Field will be packed, and fans expect a night they won’t forget.
To win the game, the Guardians need to pay attention to these situations:
Pitching Staff Must Avoid Walks
In Game 4 of the Division Series on Thursday, the Guardians walked eight White Sox hitters. Eight. That’s way too many, and it resulted in some damage that was reflected on the scoreboard.
Gavin Williams, who led the American League in walks last year but took a step forward in that department this season, needs to relentlessly attack the zone and not nibble around it. The same goes for every reliever who enters the game: they should trust their stuff and their defense to make plays.
Walks hurt, and we saw it in Parker Messick’s start on Thursday.
The Heart Of The Order Must Produce
The key to get a win, for the Guardians at least, will be in the heart of the batting order. Jose Ramirez, Chase DeLauter, Jo Adell, and Nathaniel Lowe will be in charge of making starter Sean Burke work by being patient, but also by taking advantage of hittable pitches in the zone and reaching base.
The sooner they can get Burke out of the game, the better, and it all starts with those hitters: from the second spot in the lineup to the fifth. If they can string together some quality at-bats that result in walks and hits, good things can happen.
How Long Can Gavin Williams Go?
Williams went five innings in Game 2’s loss, although he pitched well. Then, he had to be used in an 18-pitch appearance out of the bullpen on Thursday, ahead of Saturday’s start.
Due to the stressful nature of each of those pitches, one would assume that Williams probably won’t be available to go seven or eight frames tonight. However, the longer he can stay on the mound, the better, because it would mean that he is keeping the Guardians in the game and the bullpen arms will be fresher for the late-game sprint.
NEXT: 2 Guardians Players Who Need To Show Up In Game 5
