The Cleveland Guardians escaped the 2024 Cinderella team in the Detroit Tigers as they defeated them in the American League Division Series 3-2.
After going down 2-1 in the series, the Guardians put together 2 clutch games in a row to advance.
The American League Championship Series will begin on Monday where the Guardians will take on the New York Yankees.
According to Cleveland Guardians on ‘X,’ the Guardians announced their roster ahead of Monday’s American League Championship series game 1.
Our ALCS roster has been announced.#ForTheLand | #GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/TOZN1fctUC
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 14, 2024
With left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodon expected to be on the bump for the Yankees in game 1, the Guardians will likely try to load up on right-handed/switch hitters.
Rodon started 1 game in the American League Division Series against the Kansas City Royals where he threw 3.2 innings allowing 7 hits, 4 earned runs, 0 walks, and had 7 strikeouts.
The Guardians will hope to get to Rodon early, like the Royals were able to do, and give their starter Alex Cobb some early run support.
Highlighting the pitchers on the ALCS roster, 4 relief pitchers stand out as they had sub-2 earned run averages in the regular season.
These pitchers include Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, and likely the best closer in all of baseball Emmanuel Clase.
It will be interesting to see how the Guardians decide to use their bullpen in game 1, and it will likely depend on how the early innings go.
Ideally, the Guardians would like to ensure their big dogs in the bullpen are used in tight games to get out of high-leverage situations.
The Guardians are trying to appear in their first World Series since 2016.
NEXT: Guardians Pitching Staff Tied MLB Record In Divisional Series
