The Cleveland Guardians will face the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday. Stephen Vogt and his group of men currently lead the best-of-seven matchup 2-1, with two more to go, at the very least, at Progressive Field.
Shawn Armstrong will be the opener for Cleveland on Saturday, but everybody knows he won’t go longer than an inning or two. He is, after all, a reliever and is not currently stretched out to surprise Tampa.
The million-dollar question is: who will follow Armstrong in the game? Will it be a ‘bulk’ reliever? Or will it be a traditional bullpen game with multiple guys going an inning or two?
Nobody knows the answer to those questions, as Vogt didn’t want to offer more details other than the fact that Armstrong will start. We do know a couple of things: one is that the Guardians have multiple options to use after the veteran, and two, whatever decisions they make will shape future plans in the series.
The Guardians have four viable options to use after Armstrong if they want some length: Game 1 starter Foster Griffin, Joey Cantillo, Slade Cecconi, and Tanner Bibee.
If they use Griffin, then they will likely bump Parker Messick to Sunday’s Game 5, possibly with the chance of clinching the series. If, instead, they go with Bibee, Cecconi, Cantillo, or a traditional bullpen game, the Guardians will likely use Griffin on Sunday and Messick on Monday in Tampa (should the series go that far) with an extra day to rest.
They could deploy Bibee as a long man on Saturday, in a leap of faith in him as a present and future asset in the middle of a rough year for him so far. His only postseason appearance so far this year resulted in two runs allowed against the Chicago White Sox while only getting one out, though.
It’s also fair to point out that the result of Saturday’s game will probably impact Vogt’s decision regarding the starter for Game 5 on Sunday. Everything is fluid at the moment, with very few certainties.
NEXT: Guardians Announce Starting Lineup For Game 4 Of ALCS
