NEW YORK — The Guardians need to wait a few more hours to see if their season will continue.
After waiting 2 1/2 hours after the originally scheduled first pitch on Monday night, Game 5 of the American League Division Series was postponed until Tuesday at 4:07 p.m. ET due to rain. This marks the Guardians’ 14th rainout of the year, including Game 2 of the ALDS last week.
Aaron Civale, who was scheduled to start on Monday, got the nod on Tuesday over Shane Bieber, who was under consideration for the winner-take-all game.
Like Yankees starter Nestor Cortes, Bieber would have gone on short rest, having last pitched Friday. If Game 2 hadn’t been pushed back a day, Bieber could’ve started the rescheduled Game 5 on regular rest. Prior to Monday’s rainout becoming official, Guardians manager Terry Francona said Bieber wouldn’t be an option on Monday or Tuesday, no matter what happened. Bieber wanted to be available out of the bullpen, but Francona said he and pitching coach Carl Willis told him they would not use him.
Bieber has never pitched on three days’ rest, and Francona has started a guy on three days’ rest six times in the postseason since he became Cleveland’s skipper in 2013. Five of those games resulted in losses.
But Civale got the nod, despite having gone nearly two weeks without pitching in a game. The righty was in left field at Yankee Stadium after the postponement was announced going through his usual day-before-a-start routine, long tossing with one of the bullpen catchers.
Aside from their pitching plans, the Guardians now need to focus on how to tackle Cortes and a rested Yankees bullpen. In Game 2 of the ALDS, Cortes held Cleveland to two runs on six hits in five innings. The Guardians have struggled against lefties all season and now have the fate of their 2022 season depending on their success against a southpaw.
One thing still working in Cleveland’s favor is that historically, hurlers haven’t had tremendous success on short rest. Within the Wild Card Era, starters having zero to three days off since their last start have gone just 30-47 with a 4.59 ERA. And if the Guardians can knock Cortes out of the game early and get into New York’s bullpen, the club is confident it can clinch its first spot in the ALCS since 2016.