The Cleveland Guardians have the first two games of their American League Division Series matchup with the White Sox lined up. Parker Messick will take the ball in Game 1 on Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field, and Gavin Williams will follow in Game 2 on Monday. Game 3 is where things get interesting, as Stephen Vogt said Thursday that the club wants to see how the first two games play out before deciding who starts when the series shifts to Chicago. MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins took a closer look at the options and laid out a case for a creative plan built around Daniel Espino working as an opener ahead of Joey Cantillo. Stebbins pointed to how well that approach worked down the stretch and suggested the Guardians could lean on it again.
“Why could it be Espino? Of the 14 position players on the White Sox Wild Card Series roster, there were six lefties and one switch-hitter. Espino served as an opener in Cantillo’s final three appearances of the regular season after the lefty encountered some command issues. Cantillo tossed 15 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and four walks, while striking out 17 batters in those outings. The formula could work in October,” Stebbins wrote.
The reasoning starts with the opposing lineup. Six of the fourteen position players on Chicago’s Wild Card Series roster hit left handed, and another is a switch hitter. By sending the right handed Espino out first, Cleveland would force the White Sox into a tough lineup decision before the first pitch.
The results from late in the regular season also support the idea. Cantillo ran into command problems during the final weeks, and he finished with one of the highest walk totals in the American League. Cleveland responded by having Espino open for him in each of his last three appearances. Cantillo was outstanding in those outings, throwing fifteen scoreless innings while allowing just five hits and four walks with seventeen strikeouts. That is about as convincing a sample as a team could ask for heading into a postseason series.
It would also be quite a moment for Espino. The former first round pick had his path to the majors slowed for years by injuries, and now he could find himself taking the ball to open a playoff game.
Cleveland does have other options. Tanner Bibee was the Opening Day starter and led the staff with nineteen quality starts, although September was a rough month for him before he bounced back with six solid innings on the night the Guardians clinched the division.
The White Sox are dealing with even more uncertainty after sweeping the Astros on Wednesday. Manager Will Venable has not named starters for the series, and Chicago has spent much of the season using its pitchers without clearly defined starting and relief roles.
Game 3 may still be a few days away, but the Guardians have already shown they are willing to get creative. If the Espino and Cantillo combination picks up where it left off in September, Cleveland might have found its secret weapon for October.
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