CLEVELAND, Ohio — As the Guardians prepare to face the Detroit Tigers in the American League wild card series, manager Stephen Vogt announced his pitching rotation while reflecting on the team’s resilient season and his approach to postseason baseball.
He also urged his team to have fun and enjoy the ride after they stormed back from 15 1/2 games down in the AL Central Division to take the title on the season’s final day. In his second year managing the Guardians, Vogt emphasized the importance of maintaining a relaxed atmosphere despite the high stakes of playoff baseball.
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“A lot of it starts with our preparation. Our players are prepared. Nothing catches them off guard,” Vogt explained. “For four hours a day, these guys get to go be 12-year-old kids and play baseball, and that’s what we talk about. You play at your best when you’re relaxed and having fun anyway. When you’re tight and tense, it doesn’t help anything.”
Vogt announced the pitching rotation for Cleveland’s series against Detroit, starting with Gavin Williams in Game 1, setting up a rematch of last week’s showdown with Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. Tanner Bibee will take the mound for Game 2 and Slade Cecconi is slated for a potential Game 3 if necessary. Vogt explained the decision was based on maintaining the pitchers’ regular routines.
“Gavin has been incredible. Obviously we’ve talked about him all year long, just the strides that he’s made, the development that he’s come along with,” Vogt said. “It’s a lot of factors. Obviously the way Gavin has been pitching, but also it keeps him in turn and doesn’t push or alter his routine by much.”
The Guardians and Tigers are familiar foes, having faced each other six times in the past 10 days. Despite the frequency of their matchups, Vogt noted there’s no animosity between the division rivals.
“I think it’s a mutual respect. We both play clean baseball. We both play solid,” Vogt said. “Just because you’re a rivalry doesn’t mean it has to be ugly, it has to be angry. We both want to win. We both play hard.”
The Guardians manager also praised his coaching staff, particularly assistant pitching coach Brad Goldberg, whom he described as “elite.” Goldberg, a Cleveland native, has been instrumental in game planning.
“What he has done with our game planning, he runs the game planning,” Vogt said. “He’s doing deep dives on these opposing hitters, and he has just done a masterful job of helping our pitchers utilize our strengths against other teams.”
Reflecting on the Guardians’ division-winning season, Vogt expressed pride in his team’s resilience.
“Anything and everything happened to them throughout this year,” Vogt said. “They’ve been punched and kicked and beaten down, and they’ve just gotten closer. These guys went out and won the division, and they’re proud of that, and that’s going to carry us forward.”