Hey, Hi, Hello, it’s our first series preview of the 2026 season and it’s our lovable Guardians vs. the new Evil Empire Los Angeles Dodgers. Here we go.
The Guardians are 2-2 after their opening series against 2026 ALCS finalist, the Seattle Mariners. The Dodgers are 3-0 having swept their Opening Series from the Diamondbacks.
I don’t know that we can make too much of overall team numbers quite yet, so I’ll spare you the pitching and hitting rankings of the teams in these previews until we have at least 12 games to go use as a sample. So, instead, here’s the Dodger’s typical lineup:
Beware the curse of the former Guardian from the bench, however, as right-handed hitting Alex Call is their to come off the bench against lefties. This lineup, needless to say, is incredible. It’s an embarrassing amount of riches for one team to have. So, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, I guess.
The Dodgers’ bullpen, I think, is still probably the weakest part of their team, but it is now anchored by Edwin Diaz as closer, who is excellent, of course. So, if the game is close late, the Guardians’ need to make a move in the 7th or 8th before Diaz emerges from those bullpen doors.
Schedule:
Monday, March 30th, 10:10PM ET – Parker Messick, LHP vs. Roki Sasaki, RHP
Tuesday, March 31st, 10:10PM ET – Either Tanner Bibee or Kolby Allard or Logan Allen vs. Shohei Ohtani, RHP
Wednesday, April 1st, 8:20PM ET – Gavin Williams, RHP vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP
Against the Dodgers, you have to avoid traffic on the bases, so the Guardians’ starters will need to drastically tighten up their command and issue way fewer walks than they did in Seattle. I would also say this is a series to emphasize defense that backs up a solid offensive effort. As Kayfus tries to figure out left field, I’d probably prefer to put a better defender in left than Kayfus when Kwan is in center for the time being. I am, thus, not going to complain about Angel Martinez and Daniel Schneemann getting some outfield reps in this series.
The Guardians will definitely need Steven Kwan, Kyle Manzardo, Bo Naylor and Jose Ramirez to find their footing offensively in this series to have a shot to take 2 of 3. But, it will also be a good chance for Chase DeLauter to test his phenom status against the best team in baseball.
Winning one game in this series would make for a successful series for Cleveland in my opinion. Winning two would be wildly exciting. In any case, it will be a good measuring stick moment for this team early in the 2026 campaign.
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