CLEVELAND (AP) — Stephen Vogt and Will Venable don’t need to pore over extra scouting reports as the Cleveland Guardians get set to host the Chicago White Sox in Saturday’s Game 1 of the AL Division Series.
asserted
Guardians → need → Series
The AL Central rivals last faced each other two weeks ago, when the Guardians took two of three and moved into the division lead.
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Guardians → face → lead
Cleveland ended up winning its third straight division title and 14th since 1995.
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Cleveland → end → 1995
Chicago won the season series 7-6 after Cleveland took 11 of 13 in 2025.
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Cleveland → win → 2025
It’s the third straight year the Guardians will open the postseason against a division opponent.
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Guardians → ’ → opponent
They faced Detroit in the 2024 Division Series and in the Wild Card Series last year.
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They → face → Series
“There’s a little bit of a rivalry there because all three years that’s who you’ve been racing with to get in.
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you → ’ → who
There’s a lot of things that make this series really exciting,” said Vogt, Cleveland’s manager.
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Vogt → ’ → things
“I do think there’s no secrets.
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I → think → ?
We know them.
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We → know → them
They know us.
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They → know → us
So it’s just go out and execute and let’s see who can win three games before the other team.”
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who → go → team
Venable pointed out that only one run separated the teams this season.
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run → point → teams
Chicago had a 58-57 edge.
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Chicago → have → edge
“I mean, it really has been crazy kind of the back and forth that we’ve had all year.
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we → mean → that
So we’re excited about the opportunity to play these guys, but we know full well how challenging it is to beat them,” the White Sox manager said.
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manager → ’re → them
Chicago comes in with momentum after its two-game Wild Card Series sweep at Houston.
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Chicago → come → Houston
Nine players made their postseason debuts in that series, including second baseman Chase Meidroth and catcher Kyle Teel.
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players → make → Meidroth
Meidroth went 4 for 7 with a homer and four RBIs against the Astros, while Teel was 3 for 10.
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Teel → go → 10
Cleveland (85-77) has the third-youngest lineup in the American League and used 145 different batting orders this season.
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Cleveland → have → orders
Depending on final roster decisions, the Guardians could have as many as seven players making their postseason debut, including Jo Adell, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels near the trade deadline.
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who → depend → deadline
Rookie matchup in Game 1
Both teams will send rookies to the mound in Game 1 with Chicago’s Hagen Smith opposing Cleveland’s Parker Messick.
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Smith → send → Messick
According to Sportradar, it will be the 23rd postseason game in which both teams used a rookie starting pitcher.
uncertain
teams → accord → pitcher
Chicago will begin the series with a bullpen game.
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Chicago → begin → game
Smith will be the opener again after throwing three scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 6-3 victory at Houston in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series.
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Smith → throw → Series
Smith (3-3, 1.29 ERA) made three appearances against Cleveland in the regular season, going 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA.
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Smith → make → ERA
The left-hander allowed the go-ahead run during the sixth inning of Cleveland’s 6-3 victory on Sept. 16 that moved the Guardians into the AL Central lead.
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that → allow → lead
“I think he gives us a really good shot up front here.
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he → think → shot
I do feel like we can lean on some of the bullpen arms to get us through some bulk here and Hagen is as good as any for us,” Venable said.
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Venable → feel → us
Messick (12-9, 2.56 ERA) will go against the White Sox for the fifth time this season.
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Messick → go → time
The left-hander is 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA and has won his last two starts against Chicago.
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hander → win → Chicago
“Every lineup you’re going to face is pretty good.
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you → go → ?
And I’ve got just as much information on them as they do on me, so I think it’s just best stuff on best stuff and whoever executes more pitches is going to win and whoever hits more mistakes is going to win,” Messick said.
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Messick → get → mistakes
Vogt could tell the White Sox would be better this year
The heartiest of White Sox fans, including Pope Leo XIV, could have envisioned their dramatic turnaround from three consecutive 100-loss seasons to winning their first postseason series in 21 years.
Vogt saw signs beginning last season that Chicago’s rebuild would take root.
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rebuild → tell → root
“I thought they had some really good players last year but records don’t always tell the full story of a team.
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records → think → team
You could tell at spring training (this year) this is going to be a different team.
uncertain
this → tell → training
What they’ve done putting it together has been really cool,” Vogt said.
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Vogt → do → it
Cleveland is batting .255 since the Aug. 3 trade deadline, second-best in the American League.
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Cleveland → bat → League
The Guardians were 14th with a .231 average before adding Adell and Nathaniel Lowe.
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Guardians → add → Adell
Adell had a team-leading 32 RBIs since coming to the Guardians while Lowe drove in 27, including a big league-best eight sacrifice flies.
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Lowe → have → flies
…and 4 more, not listed.
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