Guardians, White Sox renew AL Central rivalry as Division Series opens in Cleveland

CLEVELAND (AP) — Stephen Vogt and Will Venable don't need to pore over extra scouting reports as the Cleveland Guardians get set to host the Chicago White Sox in Saturday's Game 1 of the AL Division Series.

The AL Central rivals last faced each other two weeks ago, when the Guardians took two of three and moved into the division lead. Cleveland ended up winning its third straight division title and 14th since 1995.

Chicago won the season series 7-6 after Cleveland took 11 of 13 in 2025.

It's the third straight year the Guardians will open the postseason against a division opponent. They faced Detroit in the 2024 Division Series and in the Wild Card Series last year.

“There’s a little bit of a rivalry there because all three years that’s who you’ve been racing with to get in. There’s emotion. There’s a lot of things that make this series really exciting,” said Vogt, Cleveland's manager. “I do think there’s no secrets. We know them. They know us. So it’s just go out and execute and let’s see who can win three games before the other team.”

Venable pointed out that only one run separated the teams this season. Chicago had a 58-57 edge.

“I mean, it really has been crazy kind of the back and forth that we’ve had all year. So we’re excited about the opportunity to play these guys, but we know full well how challenging it is to beat them,” the White Sox manager said.

Chicago comes in with momentum after its two-game Wild Card Series sweep at Houston. Nine players made their postseason debuts in that series, including second baseman Chase Meidroth and catcher Kyle Teel. Meidroth went 4 for 7 with a homer and four RBIs against the Astros, while Teel was 3 for 10. Teel also was successful on all five of his ABS challenges behind the plate.

Cleveland (85-77) has the third-youngest lineup in the American League and used 145 different batting orders this season. Depending on final roster decisions, the Guardians could have as many as seven players making their postseason debut, including Jo Adell, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels near the trade deadline.

Both teams will send rookies to the mound in Game 1 with Chicago’s Hagen Smith opposing Cleveland’s Parker Messick. According to Sportradar, it will be the 23rd postseason game in which both teams used a rookie starting pitcher.

Chicago will begin the series with a bullpen game. Smith will be the opener again after throwing three scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 6-3 victory at Houston in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series.

Smith (3-3, 1.29 ERA) made three appearances against Cleveland in the regular season, going 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA. The left-hander allowed the go-ahead run during the sixth inning of Cleveland’s 6-3 victory on Sept. 16 that moved the Guardians into the AL Central lead.

“I think he gives us a really good shot up front here. I do feel like we can lean on some of the bullpen arms to get us through some bulk here and Hagen is as good as any for us,” Venable said.

Messick (12-9, 2.56 ERA) will go against the White Sox for the fifth time this season. The left-hander is 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA and has won his last two starts against Chicago.

“Every lineup you’re going to face is pretty good. And I’ve got just as much information on them as they do on me, so I think it’s just best stuff on best stuff and whoever executes more pitches is going to win and whoever hits more mistakes is going to win,” Messick said.

The heartiest of White Sox fans, including Pope Leo XIV, could have envisioned their dramatic turnaround from three consecutive 100-loss seasons to winning their first postseason series in 21 years.

Vogt saw signs beginning last season that Chicago's rebuild would take root.

“I thought they had some really good players last year but records don’t always tell the full story of a team. You could tell at spring training (this year) this is going to be a different team. What they’ve done putting it together has been really cool,” Vogt said.

Cleveland is batting .255 since the Aug. 3 trade deadline, second-best in the American League. The Guardians were 14th with a .231 average before adding Adell and Nathaniel Lowe. Adell had a team-leading 32 RBIs since coming to the Guardians while Lowe drove in 27, including a big league-best eight sacrifice flies.

Steven Kwan's .353 batting average since the All-Star break was best in the majors.

While Cleveland was the only team in the majors without a batter who hit 20 home runs, Chicago had three with at least 30. Japanese rookie slugger Munetaka Murakami led the way with 35, followed by Miguel Vargas (33) and Colson Montgomery (31).

Vargas went 14 of 46 with three homers and 10 RBIs against the Guardians this season. Montgomery also had three homers but was 9 of 47, and Murakami went 3 of 19 while going deep twice.

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Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable (1) reaches for the game ball from relief pitcher pitcher Sean Newcomb (15) to make a pitching change during the fifth inning in Game 1 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt walks to the mound to make a pitching change during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Arizona State has asked a former chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court to lead an independent review of the collapse of hockey player Matthew Mayich during an outdoor workout in August.

Scott Bales will review Arizona State’s findings and information provided by attorneys for the Mayich family, attorneys for members of the hockey team and law enforcement, James Rund, ASU senior vice president of educational outreach and student services, said in a memo Friday to university President Michael Crow.

The 21-year-old Mayich collapsed during a workout on the first day the NCAA allows official activities. He suffered from exertional heat stroke that reduced flow of oxygen to his brain and is unlikely to recover, according to family attorney Rob Carey.

Rund said Bales will be tasked with making recommendations on multiple topics surrounding the planning, approval, staffing, policies and procedures for outdoor athletic activities. He will also review the use of outside consultants in strength and conditioning practices.

Bales was on the Arizona Supreme Court from 2005 to 2019, serving the last five years as its chief justice. The school has requested that his review be completed by early December.

The Mayich family was pleased the university brought in Bales, but not with the scope of his review.

In a statement made through Carey, the Mayich family said Bales should be looking into why the workout was allowed and why it wasn't stopped when players were in visible distress with no water or rest. They also want to know which school, conference and NCAA rules were broken.

“Justice Bales is a respected choice and he will do an excellent job. But ASU hired him to review policies that may help prevent a tragedy like this in the future. That’s not what’s needed right now,” the statement said. “What is necessary, and what the Mayich family has asked for and deserves, is an investigation of what went wrong on that field and who is responsible. Justice Bales has not been asked to answer those fundamental questions.”

The Mayich family pointed to the death of Maryland football player Jordan McNair after he collapsed during a workout in 2018. The school hired outside investigators and reported to the Maryland Board of Regents, which released the findings publicly.

The family called for Bales to report to the Arizona Board of Regents and “not to the office whose own review has missed too much.”

“There are firms that specialize in exactly this work. Some reconstruct exertional heat stroke cases and evaluate emergency preparedness,” the statement said. “Others investigate institutional and personnel failures. ASU should expand Justice Bales’ mandate to cover the questions that matter and let him bring in the expertise he needs. Otherwise, it should appoint a second independent investigator to examine what ASU’s employees did and failed to do, and the conduct of whomever they allowed to run the workout that left Matthew Mayich in a hospital bed fighting for his life.”

Arizona State’s preliminary report on its investigation said the hockey coaching staff requested permission for Timothy Ziesel, a former Green Beret, to speak with the team during a three-day team-building event. The coaching staff did not “submit a plan of training activities for review by ASU’s strength and conditioning coaches prior to the event,” the report said.

Arizona State placed hockey coach Greg Powers on administrative leave Wednesday as the investigation continues. Powers will not join the team for its season opener at Lindenwood on Friday.

“Our focus continues to be on Matthew and his family, and on our student-athletes to make sure they have the support they need during this time and as the season begins,” ASU athletic director Graham Rossini said in a statement after Powers was placed on leave. “We have continued to collect as much information as possible. After thorough and careful deliberation, I believe this is the best move to provide stability for the hockey program.”

Seven players sent a letter to Crow earlier this week urging the school to place the coaches involved in the workout on administrative leave until an independent investigation is conducted.

The players sent the letter anonymously through an attorney, fearing retribution from the coaching staff. They said several other players didn’t join in sending the letter out of fear of retribution.

Mayich’s parents, John and Christina Mayich, issued a statement on Tuesday agreeing with the players that the coaching staff should be placed on leave.

AP Sports Writer John Marshall contributed to this report.

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FILE - Members of the Arizona State University hockey team skate on the ice at the new Mullett Arena, Oct. 24, 2022, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)