The Cleveland Guardians, using a 15th inning walk-off home run by Oscar Gonzalez, advanced to the ALDS over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Guardians walk it off to beat the Rays in the 15th inning ?
The game lasted FIVE hours…
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/4fcB9r7KLm
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 8, 2022
This puts them into a five-game series with the New York Yankees.
However, while the Guardians may fly under most people’s radars, they are actually one of the most dangerous teams remaining in the playoffs.
They have a balanced lineup that is scrappy, while their pitching is dominant.
While most have the Yankees advancing to the ALCS, they are likely in for a shockingly hard series, especially if the Guardians hand the ball to pitchers Shane Bieber or Triston McKenzie with a series lead.
Here is a look into why the Guardians are such a tough matchup, and why they could surprise a lot of people.
3. Guardians Bullpen Is Strong
The Guardians’ bullpen all starts with Emmanuel Clase, who leads baseball in saves with 42 and has a 1.36 ERA too.
His cutter, which registers at 100-plus, is borderline unhittable, and gives the Guardians a massive advantage if they have a lead late in the game.
Emmanuel Clase, Filth. ? pic.twitter.com/YE8dO2Od2K
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 8, 2022
Besides Clase, pitchers James Karinchak, Sam Henteges and Trevor Stephan all have ERAs well under three and have been strong in high leverage situations all season.
This gives Cleveland a variety of arms they can go to in a short series, allowing them to not rely on just one or two pitchers.
Something that does hurt the Guardians is the injury to relief pitcher Nick Sandlin, who has thrown 44 innings this year with a 2.25 ERA.
Sandlin, who suffered an upper back/shoulder injury, is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Despite this, the Guardians still have enough depth to make up for the injury and boast one of the strongest bullpens in baseball.
2. Well-Rounded Starting Pitching
With such a strong bullpen, teams’ best chance of scoring runs is by jumping on their starting pitching.
However, that is much easier said than done, as the Guardians boast one of the more underrated starting pitching staffs of any team in the playoffs.
Shane Bieber has turned himself into a perennial Cy Young contender, with a 2.88 ERA this season.
Shane Bieber, Wicked 85mph Slider. ? pic.twitter.com/VrhfyiztmX
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 7, 2022
He is slated to start game two against the Yankees.
Triston McKenzie is the other proverbial ace of the staff, as the 25-year-old broke out this season with a 2.96 ERA.
Between these two, the Guardians have dominant arms that they can turn to in their upcoming series.
For game one, the Guardians are turning to Cal Quantrill who has had a standout season as well.
Quantrill, being the third arm in their rotation, has quietly posted a 15-5 record with a 3.38 ERA.
This is about as good as it gets for a third option in a pitching rotation.
Clearly, the Guardians have an extremely strong pitching rotation that will play in their favor during the playoffs.
1. The Guardians Unique And Strong Offense
The Guardians’ offense isn’t particularly flashy, and they aren’t filled with many sluggers, but they have a balanced lineup that plays hard and fast.
Jose Ramirez is the face of the team, with 29 home runs, 126 RBI, and a .280 batting average.
Jose Ramirez – Cleveland Guardians (1)* https://t.co/vsu27nLyUN
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) October 7, 2022
Behind him, the Guardians only have one player with more than 20 home runs (Josh Naylor).
Other players like Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, and Steven Kwan are all contact-first hitters that use speed to their advantage.
They get on-base and like to run, putting pressure on opposing defenses.
In the playoffs, this is a style of baseball that really pays off, especially when you’re facing other team’s best options in their pitching staff.
Homer-or-nothing teams tend to struggle in recent playoff history, as strong pitching tends to overpower their offensive counterparts in the playoffs.
This is something that the Guardians have playing in their advantage both ways.
Because of all this, the Guardians are a tough matchup for the postseason and could pull off an upset against the Yankees in the ALDS.
NEXT: The Guardians Stand Alone With A Shocking Statistic
