The Cleveland Guardians already know their rival in the American League Division Series. It’s a familiar foe: the Chicago White Sox, who swept the Houston Astros on the road in the Wild Card round.
The Guardians and White Sox share the same division and have enjoyed dozens of battles against each other in the past. It will be an exciting matchup between two young, up-and-coming American League squads that are hungry for sustained success.
The White Sox have, undoubtedly, more power than the Guardians. Three of their batters surpassed the 30-homer threshold: Munetaka Murakami (35), Miguel Vargas (33), and Colson Montgomery (31). Three additional hitters reached at least 15 round-trippers.
The Guardians, however, do have a significant edge in one of the most important departments: pitching. Both their rotation and bullpen are superior to Chicago’s.
“Cleveland holds the edge in pitching in the matchup with the White Sox. Gavin Williams, Parker Messick, and Foster Griffin give Cleveland a solid trio to start off the series. Tanner Bibee or Joey Cantillo could throw in Game 4. The White Sox do have familiarity with Cleveland’s starters, but the Guardians haven’t had trouble striking out the White Sox, which is concerning for the lower seed in this matchup. Cleveland also owns the bullpen advantage, with Cade Smith headlining that group,” Bleacher Report’s Joe Tansey wrote.
The Guardians’ rotation ranked ninth in MLB and fifth in the American League with a 3.93 mark. The White Sox? They were 26th in the majors with a 4.60 ERA. The difference is night and day, and it could be the deciding factor in the series.
The Guardians have two aces in their rotation: Parker Messick and Gavin Williams. They also have Joey Cantillo with an opener in front of him, which is about the equivalent of prime Randy Johnson these days. All kidding aside, the experiment has worked wonders for him and probably makes manager Stephen Vogt inclined to try it in Game 3.
As additional starting options, Vogt has All-Star Foster Griffin and Tanner Bibee, who isn’t in his best stretch as a Guardian but does have postseason experience. The White Sox have some interesting arms, such as the exciting Hagen Smith, breakout star Sean Burke, and veteran Erick Fedde. Grant Taylor is also a solid relief option.
No matter how you slice it, however, Cleveland has the pitching edge. Can they leverage that into a series win? We shall find out.
NEXT: Guardians Set To Make History Against White Sox In Postseason
