Everything is ready for the Cleveland Guardians to visit the Oakland Coliseum and take on the Athletics for the first four games of the 2024 MLB season.
The Guards have a chip on their shoulder: after their marvelous 2022 campaign that included a 92-70 record and a playoff series win, they missed the party last year and finished third in the AL Central.
Cleveland is definitely not as bad as they showed the world last season, but those claims should be proven and backed on the field.
Even though the offseason wasn’t overly active, the Guards are banking on specific young players developing and taking a step forward in their development, not to mention a rebound season from their ace Shane Bieber.
Guardians insider Zack Meisel listed the four pitching matchups for the opening series.
“Opening series pitching matchups Thursday, 10:10pm ET RHP Shane Bieber vs. LHP Alex Wood; Friday, 9:40pm ET LHP Logan Allen vs. RHP Ross Stripling; Saturday, 4:07pm ET RHP Tanner Bibee vs. LHP JP Sears; Sunday, 4:07pm ET RHP Carlos Carrasco vs. RHP Paul Blackburn,” he tweeted.
Opening series pitching matchups
Thursday, 10:10pm ET
RHP Shane Bieber vs. LHP Alex WoodFriday, 9:40pm ET
LHP Logan Allen vs. RHP Ross StriplingSaturday, 4:07pm ET
RHP Tanner Bibee vs. LHP JP SearsSunday, 4:07pm ET
RHP Carlos Carrasco vs. RHP Paul Blackburn— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) March 26, 2024
The A’s are one of the worst teams in the American League, but that doesn’t make them less dangerous in a four-game series.
The Guards, however, are well-prepared in the pitching department.
For the first game, they will send Bieber, who seems to have recovered a couple of miles per hour on his fastball and the effectiveness of his trademark knuckle curve thanks to some hard offseason work at Driveline.
He will face the accomplished Alex Wood.
Then, on Friday, left-hander Logan Allen will take the ball for Cleveland against another veteran, Ross Stripling.
The weekend games will be started by rookie sensation Tanner Bibee (Saturday) and returning veteran Carlos Carrasco (Sunday).
Carrasco, another Driveline enthusiast, looks in much better form than he did last year with the New York Mets.
Triston McKenzie, the remainder member of the rotation, will take the ball next week.
NEXT: Analysts Name 1 Guardians Player To Watch In 2024