

Thus, the new era of the Guardians was born: one of the most powerful competitors in the MLB but stymied consistently in the postseason despite making it to the ALDS, ALCS, and World Series again and again. The rest of the decade saw the team performing like the contenders everyone knew they were. Cleveland delivered another pennant win in 1995 – finally – though they fell to the Atlanta Braves in the end. Things started looking up in 1994 when the Guardians began playing in their brand new home at Jacobs Field. Then, another major slump took hold of the team: from 1960 to 1993, Cleveland would spend almost every year circling the toilet bowl in the standings – much to the delight of Reds fans everywhere. The Guardians won the pennant in 1953 but the championship was ultimately out of reach, despite the franchise’s status as a powerhouse team. The Guardians would take the World Series in 1948, much to Cleveland’s pride, but again the years afterward would be a series of near misses. Sadly, it would be another 28 years before the performance of the 1920s Guardians would be seen again – the same year the Guardians broke the color barrier by recruiting the legendary Satchel Paige from the Negro League. The team arrived in Cleveland in 1900 and battled their way to a 1920 World Series win, even as the MLB was reeling in the wake of the Black Sox scandal the year before. Their early history was erratic, to say the least. While the Guardians are on everyone’s minds right now – making it difficult to find cheap Guardians tickets, by the way – it wasn’t always so. Can the Reds do that? Don’t ask, they’re too busy eating crow. That’s because the Guardians are hot with some major franchise record-breakers in recent seasons, including a return to the World Series and a new AL record for the longest winning streak. Ohio Baseball fans are nothing if not passionate, and this legendary rivalry means you’re gonna be hard-pressed to find any tickets at all. Of course, good luck to you if you want to snag cheap Guardians tickets for the next Guardians-Reds matchup. Not bad for a team that started its life in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Accept no imitations: the Guardians are the real deal – just look at the Ohio Cup and you can clearly see who deserves to be on top. Either the Yankees or Guardians would host ALCS Game 1 if the Mariners prevail, but travel to Houston if the Astros take that series.No matter what those poor, misguided, foolish Cincinnati Reds fans may say, there’s only one real MLB franchise in Ohio: the Cleveland Guardians. Game 5: Guardians at Yankees - 7:37 p.m., TBS (if necessary) Game 4: Yankees at Guardians - 7:07 p.m., TBS (if necessary) Game 3: Yankees (Severino) at Guardians (McKenzie) - 7:37 p.m., TBS Game 2: Guardians (Bieber) at Yankees (Cortes) - 1:07 p.m., TBS

Here's how the rest of the series shapes up now: Forecasts were murky, but not promising for New York on Thursday evening, while Friday afternoon is looking clear. Teams are especially reluctant to begin games that might be delayed and force the exit of a key starting pitcher in high-stakes postseason games. The move to postpone this game over weather comes a day after the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies waited out a three-hour delay to start NLDS Game 2 and play it in full. The Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners will play Game 2 in Houston as scheduled on Thursday afternoon. Whoever advances may also feel the burn of the shifted schedule in planning for the ALCS. While the rain interruption isn't likely to change much on the starting pitcher front in a best-of-five series, the bullpens could be taxed by a punishing stretch of consecutive games. Game 2 is set to pit the Guardians' former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber against breakout Yankees star Nestor Cortes Jr.
