Left-hander Foster Griffin will be on the hill for the Guardians when they open the ALCS against ace Drew Rasmussen and the Rays on Monday night, the club announced Sunday.
Griffin threw 2 2/3 clutch innings as a bulk reliever as Cleveland beat the White Sox, 9-3, in Game 3 of the AL Division Series to start its comeback from a 2-0 series deficit. In that outing, Griffin struck out seven over 2 2/3 innings, setting a new single-game record for K’s by a Cleveland reliever in the postseason.
“All I wanted to do in the first was get the boys back to the dugout, limit the damage there,” Griffin said. “Felt pretty good about the matchup, and then from there, keep going until the skipper takes the ball from me."
Griffin, who was acquired from Washington at the Trade Deadline after posting a 3.06 ERA in 22 starts, struggled down the stretch (5.19 ERA in nine starts) with Cleveland. But a one-of-a-kind baseball journey, during which he pitched in Japan from 2023-25, prepared Griffin for his first postseason appearance -- despite the fact that he was pitching for the first time since Sept. 23 in Boston.
Griffin had his seven-pitch mix working in that game, but it was his sweeper and fastball that generated five of his seven strikeouts, more than a third of the total that helped Cleveland set a new postseason record (19) for a nine-inning game on Wednesday.