Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Guardians will be facing the second-place team from the AL Central. It is the third year that the rivals will meet. This time, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago White Sox meet for a battle of the ALDS.
As usual, even though the Guardians won the division, the team is full of question marks. The offense is one of the worst in baseball and realistically the worst offense left in the playoffs. However, despite the statistics, their timely hitting and hustle powered them to a division title.
As for the White Sox, if you guessed they would be the only team playing baseball in Chicago in October, I think the whole world would call you crazy. The White Sox have gone from one of the worst teams in baseball to a lineup that is now ready to make some noise. This isn’t a team that will be happy with just an ALDS appearance; There are children who are ready for the moment.
Looked great in the Wild Card series against the Chicago Astros. Not only did they look great, but they got big wins thanks to a no-hitter performance by their best bat, Miguel Vargas. Unfortunately, they will face a huge step up in talent against a very good Guardians squad.
Parker Messick will be on the mound for Game 1 in Cleveland, and he enters the series on a high note. Messick will likely be on the podium at this year’s Cy Young race, and he’s already had great starts against the Sox. He had a 1.99 ERA in four starts against Chicago in just under 26 innings.
However, Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt had his work cut out for him in game one. Hagan Smith will start for the White Sox, and the hard-throwing lefty is causing problems for the Rangers. It’s no secret that Cleveland struggles against lefties, with most of their top hitters batting on that side of the plate. Will Vogt David Fry or even Rhys Hoskins get the start, or will Nathaniel Lowe start despite his struggles against lefties?
Cleveland’s heroics last season stole the division back-to-back, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Detroit in 2025. Can they flip the script and reclaim the AL Central Crown, or will Chicago’s shocking playoff run continue with an ALCS appearance?
I go with Guardians at -162 to win this series and go into a match against one of their AL East foes.