Guardians Weekly Watch: Yankees on the road, Nationals at home

The Cleveland Guardians start the week with a 6-4 record, good for second in the AL Central division.

To the surprise of none, the Cleveland Guardians continue to trot a competitive team out there every night in the early goings of the 2023 season.

As things currently stand, the perennial underdogs are 6-4, which puts them in second place in the AL Central behind the always-dangerous Minnesota Twins.

Coming up on the weekly docket, Cleveland will travel to take on the New York Yankees in New York for a three-game series, before coming home to host the Washington Nationals for another three-game set.

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. 10 Guardians vs. Yankees

Pitching matchup: Shane Bieber (CLE) vs. Domingo Germán (NYY)

Bieber, 27, has continued to perform at an ace-like level for the Guardians and remains one of the better hurlers in the entire American League. He has made two starts so far this year and has a 2.25 ERA and 1.98 FIP in 12 innings of work. Opposing him on the mound will be Germán, who was slated to open the year in the Yankees’ bullpen before a slew of injuries to the starters pushed him into the rotation.

Apr. 11 Guardians vs. Yankees

Pitching matchup: Hunter Gaddis (CLE) vs. Gerrit Cole (NYY)

Gaddis, 25, had a rough go of it in his season debut when he allowed four runs on five hits through just 3.2 innings of work. However, the second start of his season was far more encouraging, as he toss six shutout innings, striking out four and allowing just one hit. Cole, 32, needs no introduction. In his first two starts, he has shown why he has established himself as one of the game’s most fearsome starters. Through 12.1 innings of work, Cole has 19 strikeouts with just one earned run, good for an ERA of 0.73.

Apr. 12 Guardians vs. Yankees

Pitching matchup: Aaron Civale (CLE) vs. Clarke Schmidt (NYY)

Civale, 27, has had an up-and-down big league career so far but is off to a solid start this year. In two outings and 12.2 innings, he has allowed just four earned runs. He will never strike out a ton of guys, instead relying heavily on groundball outs, but he has proved to be a serviceable arm for the Guardians. Schmidt, also 27, has had a hard time getting going through parts of four years in the big leagues. He, like Domingo Germán, was forced into a rotation spot once the injury bug began to bite.

Apr. 14 Guardians vs. Nationals

Pitching matchup: Cal Quantrill (CLE) vs. Trevor Williams (WSH)

Quantrill, 28, has excelled in the first few seasons of his tenure in Cleveland but is off to a rough start this year. In 9.2 innings of work across two outings, he has allowed seven earned runs on 15 hits. If the Guardians hope to stay in contention, they will need to get Quantrill figured out. Williams, 30, has shown brief glimpses of promise over the course of his eight-year career, but he is no more than a veteran stopgap on the rebuilding Nationals. He has made a pair of starts in 2023, posting a 4.35 ERA with seven strikeouts in 10.1 innings.

Apr. 15 Guardians vs. Nationals

Pitching matchup: Zach Plesac (CLE) vs. Chad Kuhl (WSH)

Plesac, like Quantrill, has looked solid at times but is not doing so hot in 2023. He has two starts under his belt but has a 9.00 ERA in eight innings of work thanks to eight earned runs on 12 hits. Kuhl, 30, may not be long for this Nationals team, as he is once again struggling to get outs with any real consistency. After posting an ERA+ of 82 last year with the Rockies, he has an 8.10 ERA with a 56 ERA+ through 10 innings on the Nationals. He has been walking too many batters and already has given up three home runs in just two outings.

Apr. 16 Guardians vs. Nationals

Pitching matchup: Shane Bieber (CLE) vs. Patrick Corbin (WSH)

Bieber will take on left-hander Patrick Corbin for the series finale against the Nationals. Corbin, 33, has fallen from grace since his days atop the Arizona Diamondbacks’ starting rotation. He has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball over the past few years and is once again off to an awful start this year. In two starts and nine innings pitched, Corbin has allowed eight earned runs and given up 17 hits. He, like the other two starters for the Nats, will be put to the test against this Guardians lineup.