The Guardians and Yankees open a three-game series Monday at Progressive Field, with Gavin Williams lined up to start the 6:40 p.m. opener for Cleveland against New York’s Will Warren.
All three probable starters for the series are on the board: Williams faces Warren Monday at 6:40 p.m.; Slade Cecconi is scheduled to start Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. against Gerrit Cole; and Parker Messick is listed for Wednesday’s 1:10 p.m. matinee opposite Carlos Rodón. Fox Sports 1 will carry Monday’s game and TBS will televise Tuesday’s matchup, while WTAM/1100, WMMS 100.7 FM and the Guardians Radio Network will broadcast the series.
The matchup matters in the standings: the Yankees are 38-26 and have won seven of their last 11, while the Guardians sit close behind at 37-30. Cleveland leads the season series 2-1, but New York owns the long-run rivalry 1,127-886 overall. The Guardians finished a six-game trip 3-3 after a 10-0 loss to Texas on Sunday; they opened that swing by going 2-1 against New York.
There are carrying pieces of this story that follow straight from those earlier games. Williams beat Gerrit Cole in the second game of the prior series between these clubs, and José Ramírez was productive in New York — going 7 for 13 at Yankee Stadium during that set. Paul Goldschmidt, meanwhile, went 5 for 12 with four RBI last week against the Yankees, a detail Cleveland will hope to replicate at Progressive Field.
The pitching matchups set a clear outline for the three days: Williams, a right-hander who outdueled Cole in the previous meeting, will get the ball Monday; Tuesday’s declared pair puts Cecconi on the bump for Cleveland against Cole, and Wednesday presents Messick versus Rodón in a day game that closes the set. Those assignments shape how both managers can use their bullpens over a compact three-day stretch.
Still, the series arrives with a notable roster caveat. New York has several players on the injured list — Aaron Judge and catcher Austin Wells among them — and other names remain sidelined. The Yankees’ standing and recent form suggest depth can cover short-term absences, but the missing pieces are real and alter where New York will look for offense. Cleveland’s list is shorter, with Erik Sabrowski and Gabriel Arias on the IL, but the Guardians will be watching matchups and workload as closely as New York will while both clubs try to protect pitching and keep bats fresh.
Beyond the pitching slate and injury reports, there are practical edges: two of the three earlier games between the teams were decided by one run, underscoring how small margins have shaped this mini-rivalry so far. Progressive Field will host three games in three days before Cleveland gets Thursday off and then welcomes Detroit for a three-game series starting Friday night.
Monday’s opener is the immediate test — 6:40 p.m. first pitch, Williams vs. Warren on FS1 — and it will answer a pair of urgent questions: whether Cleveland can extend the edge it built in the early season matchups, and how New York’s lineup performs without several regulars. The most consequential unresolved issue heading into the series is simple and decisive: which injured Yankees, if any, will be available during the visit to Progressive Field, and how much of New York’s recent success depends on players who remain sidelined?
