The Cleveland Guardians head into the American League Championship Series on Monday after a long night of celebration. Following their tense Game 5 win over the Chicago White Sox, the team got little sleep before flying to St. Petersburg, where they will face the Tampa Bay Rays. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt had not even settled on his Game 1 starter until a half-hour before Sunday's workout, when he informed Foster Griffin that he would take the ball.
The Rays, by contrast, have enjoyed a relaxed stretch. Tampa Bay clinched last Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, then spent Saturday holding an intrasquad game complete with piped-in crowd noise and personalized walk-up music. Manager Kevin Cash had known for nearly a week that Drew Rasmussen, who flirted with a no-hitter against the New York Yankees in the wild-card round, would pitch Game 1. Rasmussen will be working on eight days of rest.
Pitcher Griffin Jax described the advantage plainly. The season is 162 games long with few off days, and the Rays' bullpen had been wearing down. Still, he acknowledged the age-old debate of rest versus rust. Any player would rather have the rest, he said, but the Rays' extra time away from the field is not without its tradeoffs.
The Guardians have no such luxury. Shortstop Brayan Rocchio said he struggled to fall asleep and estimated he slept only about 30 minutes on the flight to Florida. Vogt will have to wait to deploy his best starters, as Gavin Williams is unlikely to be available again until Game 3. Parker Messick could be fully rested for a Game 2 start, though he looked flat in his last outing. Both teams are widely regarded as among the most progressive in the sport, and the matchup between their contrasting approaches could go a long way toward deciding the series.
Source: ESPN MLB · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing