The Cleveland Guardians are coming off a gut-wrenching loss on Friday’s American League Championship Series Game 5.
They went from being down 6-2 to tying the game at 6-6, yet they couldn’t secure the win and wound up losing 8-6 at home.
Now, Cleveland is one loss away from being eliminated from contention.
This team has shown time and time again that they are always up for competing even when their backs are against the wall.
To pull off the upset, the Guardians will need help from everyone.
Everyone.
Manager Stephen Vogt agrees with that notion and has made it clear that all hands are on deck.
“Everyone is available tonight,” Vogt said on his club’s pitching situation. Mentioned they’d eye pitch counts a bit, but everything feels like it’s on the table in an elimination game,” sports anchor Nick Camino posted on X.
https://x.com/NickCaminoWKYC/status/1847750377518878776
Apart from Friday’s starter Gavin Williams and perhaps Thursday’s pitched Matthew Boyd, expect Vogt to use just about anyone he needs in a particular spot.
That includes overworked relievers such as Cad Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis and even Emmanuel Clase, even with his notorious struggles in the postseason.
Pedro Avila, Andrew Walters, Erik Sabrowski and even Joey Cantillo are also expected to be ready if they are needed.
Tanner Bibee will be the starter on Saturday’s Game 5, and he will be doing so on short rest.
The bullpen is tired, but if the Guardians are going to have a chance at beating the Yankees and returning to New York, it will have to step up.
NEXT: MLB Analyst Discusses How Heavy Reliever Usage Is Affecting The Guardians
