Guardians pitching plans for doubleheader against Tigers creates more questions than answers 

Later today the Guardians will take on the Detroit Tigers in a huge doubleheader that’s going to have huge implications on the Guardians’ postseason chances. 

If the Guardians pick up a sweep they’re going to gain at least a 1/2 game on teams in the Wild Card or American League Central standings regardless of how every other team does. 

But if they get swept, they’d be in the opposite position and would likely lose control of their Wild Card spot while falling even further behind the White Sox in the American League Central. 

It’s about as big of a two-game swing as you can have at this point in the season, which made it even more surprising when Stephen Vogt announced yesterday that Logan Allen is going to start Game 1 of the doubleheader ahead of Foster Griffin going in Game 2. 

Going with Griffin in Game 2 makes a ton of sense considering he’s either going to be like a bonus if the Guardians win Game 1 or a stopper if they drop the opening game of the series. 

But their decision to go with Allen is surprising considering he’s worked almost exclusively out of the bullpen this season outside of the one start he made earlier this season in a doubleheader. 

While there’s always a chance the Guardians could call up Slade Cecconi to work behind him (more on that in a second), turning to Allen at this juncture in the season is an obviously risky move. 

The Guardians are surprisingly turning to Logan Allen in their doubleheader against the Tigers

In fact, the only way this makes any sense would be if the Guardians activated Cecconi off the injured list and had him take the place of Carlos Hernández, who pitched on both Tuesday and Wednesday after being promoted from Triple-A. 

That said, Vogt had previously told the team’s beat on Tuesday that Cecconi needed one more rehab appearance before he was able to come back, but he hasn't taken the mound since. 

Cecconi taking the mound without having another rehab appearance wouldn’t be the weirdest thing in the world considering injury plans change often, but it would be a bit of a surprising development.

He’s going to be down tomorrow, and it’s hard to believe the Guardians would keep him on the roster when they know they’re going to need to cover (at least) 18 innings today.

Allen’s been a bit better this season (3.77 ERA), most of that stems from the fact he hasn’t gotten a ton of work as a starter. His last appearance was a 26-pitch outing against the Royals on Saturday, so it’s been six-plus days since he last pitched. 

Although Cecconi’s first foray into the bullpen didn’t look great, he’d be a great piggyback option who could eat some innings ahead of Game 2. Griffin may be a better pitcher, but he’s only gone more than five innings once in his time with the Guardians. 

The Guardians put themselves in a hole thanks to their two rough outings against the Blue Jays, and now they’re going to have to lean on Allen and possibly Cecconi to turn it around. Not an ideal situation, but what about this year has been easy for the Guardians?

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