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The American League Division Series commenced on Saturday with a pair of shutout performances, and the starting pitchers slated for Game 2 suggest that fans might witness more pitching excellence.
The Tampa Bay Rays secured a 1-0 victory over the New York Yankees, while the Chicago White Sox blanked the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 in the opening games.
Both the Yankees and Guardians are prepared to counter with hard-throwing right-handers known for their strikeout ability.
Below are the projected starting pitchers for Game 2 in each ALDS matchup.
Yankees vs. Rays
Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen delivered a stellar performance in Game 1, carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning. The 31-year-old allowed no runs on one hit and two walks while striking out 10 in Tampa Bay's 1-0 win.
Holding a 1-0 series advantage, the Rays will turn to another two-time All-Star on Monday. Right-hander Freddy Peralta is set to start Game 2. Acquired at the trade deadline, the 30-year-old posted a 3.25 ERA in 10 starts for Tampa Bay, including a 0.96 ERA over five September starts.
The Yankees will counter with right-hander Cam Schlittler. The presumptive American League Cy Young Award winner threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card Series and will aim to help New York even the ALDS with another strong postseason outing.
White Sox vs. Guardians
The first game of the ALDS between Chicago and Cleveland hinged on the White Sox bullpen silencing the Guardians' bats. Left-hander Hagen Smith opened Game 1 for Chicago, and the team appears to be adopting a similar strategy for Game 2.
Left-hander Anthony Kay is expected to start for the White Sox on Monday. The 31-year-old made 31 starts during the regular season but has already made two relief appearances in the playoffs, including 1 1/3 scoreless innings against Cleveland in Game 1. The expectation is that Kay will serve as an opener, potentially followed by right-hander Sean Burke.
For the Guardians, right-hander Gavin Williams will take the mound in Game 2. The 27-year-old led the American League in strikeouts this year with 248. The hard-throwing righty will try to keep the White Sox off the scoreboard and send the best-of-five series back to Chicago tied at 1-1.
Justin Binkowski is a lifelong baseball fan returning to cover the sport he loves after spending nearly a decade writing about video games. Before his time as managing editor at Dot Esports, Binkowski attended King's College in Wilkes-Barre, PA, where he was also a relief pitcher on the school's baseball team. While in college, Binkowski was a media relations intern for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders during the 2014 season. Follow JBinkk.