AL Wild Card 2022: Rays vs. Guardians Hot Takes from MLB Twitter

The Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians will face off for the second time in two weeks in the American League Wild Card series.

Tampa Bay and Cleveland gave us a sign of how their postseason series could go since they were involved in three one-run games and two that went into extra innings.

The first series to start play on Friday should be dominated by pitching. Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie headline Cleveland's rotation, while the return of Tyler Glasnow from Tommy John surgery provided extra hope for the Rays.

Cleveland's pitching staff has been one of the best in baseball down the stretch. Codify Baseball broke down the September numbers last week as the Guardians were in the process of wrapping up the AL Central crown.

Cleveland has an excellent one-two punch in Bieber and McKenzie that could shut down the Rays offense to win the series in two games.

The latter has been the breakout star of the season for the Guardians. MLB Network's Xavier Scruggs analyzed why the tall right-hander has become such a problem for opposing hitters.

Randy Arozarena, who was the star of the 2020 postseason, will be one of the many hitters the Cleveland pitching staff has to slow down. Arozarena started Wednesday on a 1-for-29 cold streak.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times pointed out that the Rays need him to flip back into his old postseason form.

Tampa Bay can try to counter Cleveland's strong pitchers with Glasnow and AL Cy Young candidate Shane McClanahan. McClanahan and the other left-handed arms on the Tampa Bay staff could give José Ramírez and others trouble, as WTSP's Evan Closky noted:

Against left-handed pitching, Cleveland ranks 27th in OPS and has the fewest amount of home runs.

Those numbers could persuade the Rays to start Jeffrey Springs over Drew Rasmussen in Game 3 if the series gets that far. Cal Quantrill would be Cleveland's likely Game 3 starter.

Cleveland has an edge in the bullpen, and it may be near unhittable in the final few innings thanks to a group led by Emmanuel Clase, who as Codify Baseball noted, has been tough to hit all season.

The Guardians may be the youngest team in baseball, but they are stacked with pitching talent that may have to lead them past the Rays if they continue to struggle against lefties.