Gabriel Arias will get his first postseason start for Cleveland at first base. The Guardians are tied with New York in the American League Division Series.
The Guardians have rolled out more of the same lineup this postseason. There have been some minor adjustments such as having Josh Naylor at designated hitter or first base and moving Andres Gimenez and Oscar Gonzalez up or down a spot or two in the lineup.
But Cleveland made a pretty significant adjustment to their lineup ahead of game three of the ALDS.
This is the lineup they are going with:
The big change is seeing Gabriel Arias at first base. Arias has yet to start in the playoffs and when he played in the regular season it was either at third base or shortstop depending on who got the day off.
Naylor, who is the typical first baseman, is still in the lineup at the designated hitter. The player who is the odd man out because of this move is easily Owen Miller.
Miller got the start yesterday in game two of the ALDS but was incredibly underwhelming at the plate. In his four at-bats, he struck out three times and was also thrown out at first on a weekly hit ball to third.
First base isn't a position that is completely foreign to Arias, but it's not his home either. He only made one start there in the regular season and played there sporadically in the minors as well.
This is obviously a decision based on the offense. Arias had four hits in his last seven games of the regular season and he also drew four walks as well.
Out of all the storylines heading into game three, this decision will definitely be one of the most talked about and watched.
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