Guardians Weekly Watch: 1 contender, 1 pretender on the weekly docket

The Cleveland Guardians start the week with a 3-1 record after dominating the Seattle Mariners in the season-opening series.

The 2023 regular season started off on the best foot possible for the Cleveland Guardians. The club took on the Seattle Mariners in a four-game series and was able to take three from the always-dangerous Mariners.

It’s highly important for the Guardians to continue this hot streak. They are easily one of the best AL Central clubs, but history has shown that teams like the White Sox or Twins can come out of nowhere and be surprise contenders.

This week’s matchups will feature one rebuilding team and one familiar foe, as the Guardians travel to Oakland to face the Athletics for a three-game series beginning Monday and then host the Mariners for a three-game series to end the week.

DIRECTV carries the most local MLB games, so die-hard baseball fans with the CHOICE package or higher can stay connected to their teams all season long with their regional sports networks, where available (Blackouts and additional fees may apply). 

Here’s what Guardians fans should be watching for this week:

Apr. 3 Guardians vs. Athletics

The 3-1 Guardians take on the 1-2 Athletics in Oakland for a three-game series beginning Monday evening. The projected pitching matchup is Zach Plesac for Cleveland and James Kaprielian for Oakland. Both starters are low-strikeout pitchers who rely on groundballs and soft contact to find success on the mound. Various members of each team’s offense have found success against the opposing pitchers, so this has the chance to be the only close game of the series.

Apr. 4 Guardians vs. Athletics

This is where things start to heavily lean in the Guardians’ favor. Staff ace Shane Bieber is set to take on southpaw JP Sears in this one. Bieber, 27, is coming off of a six-inning shutout performance on Opening Day that saw him strike out three while not walking a single batter. Sears’ big league career has been off to a promising start, but there’s no real reason to suggest that Bieber will struggle against an A’s lineup that looks like it could be a minor league squad.

Apr. 5 Guardians vs. Athletics

The series finale against the Guardians and A’s will take place Wednesday afternoon after two-consecutive night games. The pitching matchup currently projects to be rookie Hunter Gaddis for Cleveland and Kyle Muller for Oakland. Gaddis, 24, has struggled mightily through the first three appearances of his big league career but is not far removed from being one of the stronger pitching prospects in the system. Muller, 25, was once a highly-touted hurler in the Braves system, before being traded to Oakland as part of the massive Sean Murphy deal in the 2022-2023 offseason. This game will be a battle of young hurlers and could be a shot for Gaddis to step up to the plate and shut the A’s down.

Apr. 7 Guardians vs. Mariners

After a day off on Thursday, Cleveland will finally play a series at home after seven straight road games to start the year. The pitching matchup is currently TBD on both sides, but going off of each team’s starting rotation, it should be Aaron Civale leading the charge for Cleveland and Logan Gilbert for Seattle. This should be one heck of a pitcher’s duel as both of these arms are one of the more promising ones in their respective organizations.

Apr. 8 Guardians vs. Mariners

Another one listed as “TBD” in regards to starting pitchers, Cal Quantrill for Cleveland and Marco Gonzales for Seattle are the likely starters. Gonzales surrendered four earned runs on six hits against Cleveland last week, earning a no-decision. The 28-year-old Quantrill did not fare much better in his season debut against the Mariners, going 4.2 innings and allowing four earned runs on eight hits. Both arms are capable of being top-tier pitchers but both have experienced quite a bit of inconsistency in the major leagues.

Apr. 9 Guardians vs. Mariners

While nothing is confirmed yet, Zach Plesac figures to take the mound for the Guardians against Seattle’s George Kirby, who emerged as one of the best pitchers in the AL last season. Plesac will be put to the test here as his opponent in start No. 2 will be much tougher than the weak Oakland A’s lineup he faced in his first start.