Previewing the Guardians' Opening Series Against the Seattle Mariners

Opening Day is finally here. In about 48 hours, the Guardians will be taking the diamond out west to take on the Seattle Mariners.

It is a really tough opening series for both teams, which rely on their extraordinary pitching staffs.

Let us break down the three-game set ahead of first pitch.

GAME ONE: LOGAN GILBERT VS TANNER BIBEE

Aug 14, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee (28) looks to home plate in the second inning against the Miami Marlins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

The first game of the season always feels more important than the rest. You get all the fanfare and energy of something beginning anew once again. You get healthy rosters and amped up teams with the hope of being the best team in baseball.

Once you get past that and settle in, the game matters just as much as any one of the other 161 on the schedule this year. This first one certainly will not be easy. Logan Gilbert is heading one of the best rotations in all of baseball.

Gilbert last year only went 6-6, but his ERA was 3.44, he had 173 strikeouts in 131 innings, and a FIP of 3.35. He is a pitcher who can go long into games and put up high strikeout numbers. The Guardians notoriously strike out very little, but Gilbert will make even the best swing and miss.

Tanner Bibee will be on the bump for the Guardians, looking to continue to build on his final few starts of 2025, where he posted a 1.30 ERA in four games in September. This is also a redemption spot for Bibee, who missed last year’s Opening Day start due to food poisoning.

Expect this game to be very low scoring as both starters are set up to have quality outings before handing it off to two of the best bullpens in the sport.

GAME TWO: GEORGE KIRBY VS GAVIN WILLIAMS

Jul 20, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams (32) celebrates during the seventh inning against the Athletics at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Gavin Williams really made a name for himself last season. Posting a 3.06 ERA with a 12-5 record was something very few people expected Williams to pull off over the course of 31 starts and a career high 167.2 innings. Williams really looked like the team’s ace throughout the season last year. Williams looks to take advantage of a pitcher-friendly ballpark to begin the season and continue to post low numbers, solidifying himself as the team’s ace this season.

George Kirby is one of the better ball control pitchers in the game. Kirby will sling it and bend it all over the strike zone, begging you to swing, miss, or make weak contact.

Kirby did not look like himself late last season, giving up numerous walks a game and a good amount of hard contact. He is looking to remain healthy this year and build off of his Cy Young potential, and he should be able to do so against a Guardians lineup that struggled to score runs in 2025.

Look for this game to be another one of those low-scoring affairs, where the bullpen may notch the win, or at the very least, decide the game.

GAME THREE: BRYAN WOO VS SLADE CECCONI

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Slade Cecconi (44) dries his hands off in between pitches during the first inning of Game 3 of the American League Wild Card Series at Progressive Field, Oct. 2, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Game three is where things can get a little more entertaining. Cecconi has been stellar for the Guardians, but let us not pretend he is any ace. He can shut down lineups from time to time, but he is also capable of letting lineups score runs.

Bryan Woo is an innings eater. He does not eat them for fun; he eats them because it is his job. He dominates lineups and does so with relative ease, breezing through six innings seemingly every single outing.

If the Guardians can somehow score on Woo, they will stand a chance. But with Cecconi on the mound and it being the final game of a series, look for more runs to be scored despite the solid bullpens and weaker lineups.

This is still a Seattle ballpark with great pitching metrics, and these are still two lineups that have famously struggled to score runs. But this is a new year. The Guardians would love nothing more than to win this series against Seattle. They went 2-4 against them last season, and then have to travel to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers.

Being in a hole going into Los Angeles is what they do not want or need in an AL Central that is expected to be as close as ever this season. Getting off to a fast start is imperative for the Guardians, and it all starts in Seattle.