CLEVELAND — It's time for playoff baseball!
The Guardians will host the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend in the American League Wild Card Series, and we now finally know when the games will be played. All Major League Baseball wild-card matchups will take place Friday, Saturday, and potentially Sunday, and it was only this week that the entire postseason bracket was set.
Here in Cleveland, Games 1 and 2 will each begin Friday and Saturday, respectively, at 12:07 p.m. from Progressive Field. Should there be a Game 3, that is tentatively scheduled for Sunday at 4:07 p.m., although that could change based on how other series shake out.
This is the first year of MLB's new playoff format, where the division winners with the lowest records in each league along with all wild-card teams take place in a best-of-three first-round series. The higher seeds will host all games, and since the Guards are seeded No. 3 in the AL, they will take on the No. 6 Rays in Cleveland.
To get in the proper spirit, the team is encouraging fans to "Rock Your Red" and wear the color to any games they are attending. There will also be pregame festivities and giveaways in Gateway Plaza before each showdown.
The league also revealed which networks the games will air on, all affiliated with ESPN by way of the new television contract. For the Guardians, Friday's Game 1 will be on ESPN, while Game 2 will move to ESPN2.
Sunday's Game 3, which will only be played if Cleveland and Tampa split the first two contests, is where things get a little tricky: While MLB confirms it will be shown on ESPN regardless, first pitch could move to prime time at roughly 7:30 p.m. if both National League series (San Diego Padres vs. Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres vs. New York Mets) end after only two games. The second AL series between the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays would then move to 4 p.m., although if that bout is also a sweep then Guards vs. Rays would be played a little earlier around 7 p.m. since it would be the only game on the docket.
The AL Central champion Guardians found out Tuesday night that the Rays would be their opponent. Cleveland is seeking its first World Series title since 1948, the longest current drought in the game.