CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Guardians are returning home to Progressive Field after a disappointing trip to the Bronx, dropping the first two games of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) to the New York Yankees.
Now, the Guardians will look to get back on track and try to get out of the current 0-2 hole they are facing in this best-of-seven series with a trip to the World Series on the line.
Here's everything you need to know about Game 3:
GAME INFO, HOW TO WATCH ON TV, STREAM, BETTING LINE
- Date: Thursday, Oct. 17
- Time: 5:08 p.m.
- Location: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
- TV channel: TBS
- Streaming: Max
- Radio: WTAM 1100, WMMS 100.7, Guardians Radio Network, ESPN Radio, WARF 1350
- Moneyline: -115 Yankees
- Run line: -1.5 Yankees / +1.5 Guardians
- Total: 7
- Tickets can be purchased HERE
PROBABLE PITCHERS
- New York Yankees: RHP Clarke Schmidt (0-0, 3.86 ERA, 4 SO)
- Cleveland Guardians: LHP: Matthew Boyd (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 10 SO)
ALCS SCHEDULE
- Monday, Oct. 14: Game 1, Yankees win 5-2
- Tuesday, Oct. 15: Game 2, Yankees win 6-3
- Thursday, Oct. 17: Game 3, in Cleveland, 5:08 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 18: Game 4, in Cleveland, 8:08 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 19: Game 5 (if necessary), in Cleveland, 8:08 p.m.
- Monday, Oct. 21: Game 6 (if necessary), in New York, 5:08 p.m.
- Tuesday, Oct. 22: Game 7 (if necessary), in New York, 7:38 p.m.
PREVIEW
The Guardians are returning home and are hoping to climb out of a 0-2 hole in the ALCS after struggling with pitching and defensive errors in New York.
Cleveland has officially named Boyd as their starter for Game 3. In the first two games of the series, the team has had trouble with its starting pitching.
In Game 1, Alex Cobb was taken out in the third inning, leaving the Guardians to rely on their bullpen early. The same struggles continued in Game 2 when Guardians' Manager Stephen Vogt decided to pull Tanner Bibee in a bases-loaded situation in the second inning. Since Bibee threw a mere 39 pitches, he could likely return as a starting pitcher earlier in the rotation than previously expected.
Luckily for the Guardians, who used seven pitchers in Game 2, they had a day of rest in between Game 2 and Game 3. The Guardians must get more out of their starting pitchers, especially when they could be playing three consecutive games if they can force a Game 5.
While the Guardians possess the best bullpen in baseball, with players like Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith and Emmanuel Clase, the team can't rely on them unless their starting pitchers improve the length of time they can remain in the game.
Cleveland has also failed to mount comebacks in this ALCS despite several chances to tie the score or take the lead. In the first two games, the team left 16 runners on base and went 1-11 with runners in scoring position.
While Steven Kwan, Brayan Rocchio, Lane Thomas and David Fry have remained hot in the postseason, the Guardians' usual big hitters, José Ramírez and Josh Naylor, have remained quiet, averaging a mere .167 and .214 batting average, respectively.
It's a time like this when Cleveland needs their most prominent stars to step up in significant ways for a team looking to get back to the kind of Guards baseball that they have promoted all year.
On the other hand, the Yankees have taken full advantage of the Guardians' recent pitching chaos by getting off to a hot start early and hitting the ball often.
Two wins in Cleveland are the only thing standing between the Yankees and a trip to the World Series for the first time since 2009.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Guardians/Yankees series winner will take on the winner of the National League Championship Series between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Los Angeles currently leads the series 2-1.
