CLEVELAND — October baseball is officially back in Cleveland!
The Guardians will host the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday’s game marks the Guardians' first game of the 2024 postseason. The team had a bye in the Wild Card Round due to securing the No. 2 seed.
On the other hand, the Detroit Tigers continued their magical postseason run by advancing to the ALDS via a sweep of the Houston Astros in the AL Wild Card series. They are the No. 6 seed in the American League.
What follows is everything you need to know about the Game 1 matchup:
Game info, how to watch on TV, betting line
- Time: 1:08 p.m.
- Location: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
- TV channel: TBS, TruTV
- Radio: WTAM 1100, WMMS 100.7, Guardians Radio Network, WARF 1350
- Moneyline: -148 Guardians / +124 Detroit Tigers
- Run line: 1.5
- Total: Over/under 7
- Ceremonial first pitch: Travis Fryman
Probable starting pitchers
- Cleveland Guardians: RHP Tanner Bibee (12-8, 3.47 ERA, 187 SO)
- Detroit Tigers: (TBD)
ALDS schedule
- Saturday, Oct. 5: Game 1 in Cleveland, 1:08 p.m.
- Monday, Oct. 7: Game 2 in Cleveland, 4:08 p.m.
- Wednesday, Oct. 9: Game 3, in Detroit, TBD
- Thursday, Oct. 10: Game 4 (if necessary) in Detroit
- Saturday, Oct. 12: Game 5 (if necessary) in Cleveland
Preview
Despite entering the season with first-year manager Stephen Vogt, the Cleveland Guardians defied the odds and captured the American League Central Division title, finishing with a 92-69 record.
Starting the postseason as the No. 2 seed behind the New York Yankees, the Guardians will host a best-of-five showdown against AL Central division rivals, the Detroit Tigers. The winner of the series will take on either the Yankees or the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.
Taking the mound for the Guardians on Saturday will be 25-year-old right-hander Tanner Bibee, who finished the regular season 12-8 with a 3.47 ERA and 187 strikeouts.
Offensively this season, the Guardians have been carried by All-Star third baseman José Ramírez, who led the team in home runs (39), runs (114), hits (173) and RBIs (118).
In addition, Cleveland's offense boasts 1B Josh Naylor, who slugged 31 homers and drove in 108 runs in the regular season. The Guardians will also count heavily on LF Steven Kwan (.292) to set the table at the top of the batting order.
As far as pitching goes, the Guards will rely on baseball's best bullpen, which will be their most significant advantage in the postseason.
The Guardians’ bullpen is led by closer Emmanuel Clase, who finished the regular season with 47 saves, a 0.61 ERA and 66 strikeouts.
In addition, bullpen pitchers such as Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith, Eli Morgan and Tim Herrin boast ERAs below 2.
Coming into the series, the Tigers are blazing hot, led by AL Cy Young favorite, Tarik Skubal. Skubal finished the regular season with 228 strikeouts, 18 wins and a 2.39 ERA, becoming the first American League to win the pitching Triple Crown since Cleveland's Shane Bieber in the shortened 2020 season.
How improbable is this magical postseason run for Detroit?
On Aug. 11, Detroit was 55-63, 10 games out of the last AL wild-card spot. They finished 31-13 the rest of the way to punch their ticket to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
In addition, the Tigers have proven in the postseason that they can make their bullpen work amid their "pitching chaos." In Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series, seven Tigers pitchers combined to get 27 outs, limiting the Astros to just two runs on five hits.
All in all, the Tigers' young club, led by A.J. Hinch, is riding on momentum, building up more confidence with a "nothing to lose" attitude.
During the regular season, the Guardians won the series against Detroit 7-6. It is worth noting, though, that these two teams have not played each other since July 30, right before the Tigers started to turn their season around.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.