After the greatest comeback in MLB history, the Cleveland Guardians are hosting a playoff series in the Wild Card round. During the summer, the Guardians were 15.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers, but after their improbable comeback, they won the AL Central.
Now, set to face the Tigers in the Wild Card, the Guardians have the chance to further solidify an incredible second half of their season, beating the team they surpassed to clinch the division in the first round of the playoffs.
The best-of-three Wild Card series begins on Tuesday, September 30th. Ahead of the series, the Guardians, according to Zack Meisel of The Athletic, have officially announced their starting rotation for the Tigers’ Wild Card series.
Guardians announce Game 1, 2, and 3 starters for Wild Card round
Cleveland has decided to go with Gavin Williams as the Game 1 starter, with Tanner Bibee as the Game 2 starter. If the series needs to go to three games, then Slade Cecconi will get the start for the Guardians in a winner-takes-all matchup against their division rivals.
Guardians starters for the Wild Card series:
Game 1: Gavin Williams
Game 2: Tanner Bibee
Game 3: Slade Cecconi— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) September 29, 2025
This season, Williams has been the best Guardians starting pitcher. In 31 starts, he had a 3.01 ERA with a 12-5 record, 173 strikeouts in 167.2 innings, and a very strong 137 ERA+. He did lead the league in walks with 83, but Williams was a good pitcher all year and is more than deserving of the start in Game 1.
In six starts against the Tigers, Detroit hitters managed just a .136 batting average off Williams, which includes a 12-strikeout masterclass on the 23rd of September to begin the massive Guardians-Tigers series, which essentially decided the division winner.
Bibee has a 4.24 ERA on the year in 31 starts, with this season being his worst of he last three years. However, since the beginning of September, in four starts, Bibee has a 1.30 ERA in 27.2 innings pitched with a 3-0 record.
More: How one decision sparked the Guardians’ incredible AL Central comeback
Cecconi has a 4.30 ERA in 23 starts for the Guardians this season. And just like Bibee, in his last four starts, Cecconi has a much better 2.19 ERA across 24.2 innings pitched with a 2-1 record, including an eight-inning masterpiece against the Kansas City Royals.
All three have been the best pitchers for the Guardians this season, and are the clear top choices to start Game 1, 2, and 3 this postseason. The Tigers, meanwhile, will send out Tarik Skubal in Game 1, so the Guardians will have a tall task ahead of them right from the beginning of the series.
The Guardians and Tigers postseason series begins at 1:08 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, September 30th, airing on ESPN. It’s the first game of the 2025 postseason, as Cleveland looks to further upset the Tigers amid the Guardians’ incredible resurgence this season.
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