The Cleveland Guardians and the Seattle Mariners wrap up their four-game series of American League playoff hopefuls on Sunday afternoon in Seattle. The Guardians are in first place in the AL Central Division, just ahead of both Minnesota and the White Sox. The Mariners are in second place in the AL West Division but are in the 3rd and final wildcard spot behind Toronto and Tampa Bay. The pitching matchup for Sunday's finale will be right-hander Aaron Civale (2-5, 5.37) vs. lefty Robbie Ray (10-8, 3.75) of the Mariners. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10pm EST.
The Cleveland Guardians started their west coast road trip on a strong note with a two-game sweep of the Padres in San Diego. The first place Guardians certainly came into Seattle feeling good about their chances against another playoff-caliber team in the Mariners. In the first two games, however, the Guardians offense came up short. The Guardians scored a combined three runs in back-to-back losses to the Mariners to open the series. The Guardians looked to regroup on Saturday night with struggling right-hander Zach Plesac on the mound. Plesac pitched well, allowing just three runs on three hits, all home runs, in seven innings of work. Trailing 3-1, the Guardians rallied back to take a 4-3 lead in the 8th inning. Jose Ramirez led the charge on the night with a home run and a double as the Guardians held on for the win.
Night.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/pV7eNxP AmI
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) August 27, 2022
The Guardians are just 5-5 in their last ten games heading into Saturday night's matchup. Still, they have maintained their lead in the AL Central as both the Twins and White Sox have floundered. The Guardians will lean on their solid starting pitching down the stretch to try and earn their first AL Central Division title since 2018. On the mound in Sunday's finale will be right-hander Aaron Civale. Civale recently returned from the IL and has looked sharp in his return. In his last five games, Civale has an ERA of 1.99 without a decision. He has thrown 22.2 innings with 18 hits and has a 9.9 K/9 rate.