CLEVELAND — The Guardians are back in the ALCS, and they have named their Game 1 starter. Left-hander Foster Griffin will take the ball tonight at 8 p.m. when Cleveland opens the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Griffin’s selection comes with the Guardians’ top arms unavailable after a grueling ALDS. Parker Messick started Game 4, and Gavin Williams delivered a legendary Game 5 performance to beat the Chicago White Sox and send Cleveland to the ALCS for the second time in three years. Griffin, acquired at the trade deadline from the Washington Nationals after earning an NL All-Star selection, struck out seven of the 11 batters he faced over two and two-thirds relief innings in Game 3.
The matchup math favors the lefty. Tampa Bay ranked 25th in baseball with a .679 OPS against left-handed pitching this season, and 133 of the Rays’ 169 home runs came against right-handers. Manager Stephen Vogt had said the staff was worrying about Monday when it arrived, and Monday has arrived.
The Rays will counter with Drew Rasmussen and own a 5-1 edge in the season series against Cleveland. But the Guardians, fresh off a winner-take-all shutout, get another October night under the lights with a trip to the World Series on the line.
