The Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays meet in Game 1 of the best-of-three Wild Card Series on Friday, the first scheduled game of the 2022 MLB postseason. By way of reminder, all games of this series will be hosted by the higher-seeded Guardians because of the new postseason structure that's in place. The winner of this series will advance to the best-of-five American League Division Series to face the AL East-champion New York Yankees.
You can view the full postseason schedule by clicking here, and here's the 2022 playoff bracket. Now, let's get to the important stuff for Game 1.
How to watch
Date: Friday, Oct. 7 | Time: 12:07 p.m. ET
Location: Progressive Field (Cleveland, Ohio)
TV channel: ESPN | Live stream: Watch ESPN
Odds: TBA
Starting pitchers: RHP Shane Bieber (13-8, 2.88 ERA) vs. LHP Shane McLanahan (12-8, 2.54 ERA)
Preview
Suffice it to say, the opener of a best-of-three series is a pivotal one. Basic mathematics tells you that the winner of Game 1 in a best-of-three has roughly a 75 percent chance of winning the entire series. Against that high-stakes backdrop, Bieber, a former Cy Young winner, takes the bump for the hosts. He made two starts against the Rays during the regular season, and in combined 13 innings registered a 3.46 ERA with 14 strikeouts against two walks. Across the way, McClanahan made only one start against Cleveland this season, and he got knocked around -- five runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out four and walked three.
Prediction
The Rays are coming off a nine-game road trip, and the guess here is that mounting fatigue affects their bats a bit (with, of course, a major assist from Bieber and the Cleveland bullpen). The Guardians' offense during the regular season didn't quite fare as well against left-handers, and McClanahan -- his lone start against the Guardians notwithstanding -- is one of the best. Runs may be hard to come by in this one.
Pick: Guardians 3, Rays 2
