The Cleveland Guardians are, officially, in win-or-go-home mode. If they can beat the Chicago White Sox on Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Wednesday, they will live to fight another day, cutting the series deficit to 2-1. If they lose, their season will be over. As a result, it’s an all-hands-on-deck situation.
Manager Stephen Vogt announced that reliever Daniel Espino will start the game in an ‘opener’ role. That means he isn’t expected to pitch more than one or two innings. After that, who knows?
Maybe Vogt himself doesn’t know. Or maybe he does, but he’s keeping it a mystery. In any case, the Guardians have options after Espino: Joey Cantillo, who was brilliant with an opener in front of him in September, is the firmest one. However, Tanner Bibee and Foster Griffin are also in play.
Analyst Ken Carman, who expressed his concern after losing Game 2, didn’t hide the fact that he’s worried to see Espino on the mound on Wednesday. However, he suggested that it’s even more unsettling that the organization can’t trust Bibee to start this game with the season on the line.
“I can’t sit there and lie to myself. I know how I feel, and I feel quite nervous about tonight’s ballgame, and I feel even more nervous about Daniel Espino starting in an opener’s role against Sean Newcomb, who’s also in an opener’s role. There’s so much that comes out of this. One, you’re telling the world you don’t really believe in Tanner Bibee, and Tanner Bibee has pitched in postseason moments before” Carman said.
“I can’t sit there and lie to myself. I feel quite nervous about tonight’s ballgame.”
➡️ @KenCarman w/ @SportsBoyTony on the #Guardians pitching plan tonight. pic.twitter.com/fRZh7eZRHI
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) October 7, 2026
Basically, he is suggesting that the stakes are too high, and no pitcher outside of Parker Messick and Gavin Williams inspires enough confidence to overcome the team’s obvious offensive issues. It might be a simple way to put it, but it’s the overall sentiment of the fan base, and it’s largely on the hitters and on the organization’s inability to fully develop them.
Espino has been more than fine as an opener, and Cantillo has allowed no runs in 15 frames since transitioning into a bulk pitcher role with an opener ahead of him. The main issue here, the one making Guardians fans nervous, is the team’s inability to produce something at the plate these days.
NEXT: Daniel Espino Opens Up About Starting Crucial Game 3
