The Cleveland Guardians have a lot to play for in the series opening against the Kansas City Royals.
The Cleveland Guardians were able to clinch a spot in the playoffs on Thursday, taking down the Boston Red Sox to win the series.
With the win, Cleveland has now guaranteed itself to be at least a wild-card team in the American League playoff picture. But the Guardians have more to play for, with the AL Central division crown up for grabs.
The Guardians currently hold a 1.0 game lead over the Chicago White Sox for the division lead, with each team having three games left to go in the regular season. Cleveland will be opening a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals, while Chicago will face off against the Colorado Rockies for three games.
If the Guardians can take care of business against Kansas City, the division will be theirs. But the White Sox do own the tiebreaker between the two teams, meaning that Cleveland will need to finish at least one game ahead of Chicago.
But as the Guardians get ready for the Royals series, the team understands that all they can control is how they play. Cleveland will focus on doing what they need to do against the Royals, while allowing the White Sox's game to simply play out.
In the opener against Kansas City, the Guardians will be turning to ace Gavin Williams to help set the tone. Williams has been lights out for Cleveland this season, and the team will need him to put together another strong out.
For the year, Williams owns a 3.63 ERA over 31 starts for Cleveland. Williams has been dominant in September through four starts, posting a 1.44 ERA.
This includes him posting two shutouts over this span, showing strong balance on the mound. Williams has also racked up 40 strikeouts over 25 innings this month.
Guardians Reveal Lineup vs Royals
Ahead of the opener against Kansas City, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt has released the lineup they will use. Cleveland believes this order of players can help get the offense going in a must-win game.
Steven Kwan will lead off for the Guardians, playing in center field. Jose Ramirez will be hitting second, playing at third base.
Chase DeLauter will hit third for Cleveland, taking on the designated hitter role. Jo Adell will again be hitting fourth, playing in right field.
Angel Martinez will be fifth for the team today, playing in left field. Hitting sixth will be David Fry, taking on first base duties today.
Travis Bazzana will be at second base, hitting in the seventh spot. Behind the plate will be Austin Hedges, hitting eighth.
And rounding out the lineup for the Guardians is Brayan Rocchio, who will be playing shortstop.
