CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Guardians will host the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of a best-of-three American League Wild Card Series at Progressive Field on Friday afternoon.
What follows is everything you need to know about the Guardians' postseason opener:
Game info, how to watch on TV, betting line:
Date: Friday, October 7, 2022
Time: 12:07 p.m. ET
Location: Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio
TV channel: ESPN
Stream: WatchESPN
Moneyline: Guardians -125, Rays +106
Run line: Guardians -1.5 (+180), Rays +1.5 (-227)
Total: 6
Probable starting pitchers
Guardians: Shane Bieber (13-8, 2.88 ERA, 198 strikeouts)
Rays: Shane McClanahan (12-8, 2.54 ERA, 194 strikeouts)
Preview
Despite entering the season favored to finish third in the American League Central, the Guardians captured their first division title since 2018 in commanding fashion, tallying a 92-70 record, finishing 11 games ahead of the second-place Chicago White Sox. Entering the postseason as the No. 3 seed in the American League behind the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, Cleveland is set to host a best-of-three series against the No. 6 seed Rays at Progressive Field.
Taking the bump for the Guardians will be 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, who shook off a slow start to turn in one of the best seasons of his Major League career. Offensively, Cleveland has been carried by a pair of All-Star infielders in third baseman Jose Ramirez and second baseman Andres Gimenez, as well as a pair of rookie outfielders in Steven Kwan and Oscar Gonzalez.
The winner of this weekend's series will advance to the American League Division Series, where they will face the Yankees in a best-of-five series. In a best-of-three series, the winner of Game 1 will carry a significant advantage heading into Saturday's Game 2.