MLB fans excited for the Cleveland Guardians match up against the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Wild Card series: "Guardians revenge for 2013" , "Rays are getting the W"

The Cleveland Guardians will host the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game American League Wild Card series beginning Friday. The Guardians (92-70) won the AL Central over the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins. The Rays (86-76) have done just enough this season to secure the final AL playoff spot, finishing three games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles.

The two teams will make for an exciting series to watch. It will be the first game to kick off the postseason with the first pitch scheduled for shortly after 12 PM ET.

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Guardians are two teams that a lot of fans didn't think would make the postseason. Everyone around Major League Baseball pictured the Chicago White Sox winning the division over the Guardians.

The Rays play in a tough division in the AL East with the Yankees and the Blue Jays. With such stiff competition in their division, many didn't have a lot of faith in Tampa Bay this year.

Whether they are supposed to be in the postseason or not, these fan bases are ready to see their teams go deep into October.

Fans from both squads are more than ready to get this series underway. They don't believe their teams being in the postseason should be a surprise to anyone around the league. The fans have had full faith in their teams all year.

Other fans are mentioning how good of a matchup this series will be. Both teams' records aren't too far apart and the teams mimick how each other plays.

The Cleveland Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays are similar baseball teams

The Cleveland Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays stack up really well against each other. Both teams have guys that can contribute to the team from the top of the lineup to the bottom.

They aren't led by a bunch of superstars; their rosters are filled with guys who love to compete. Both of these teams are aggressive on the basepaths. Not just with steals, but also with hit-and-runs, and going first to third. They understand when to take advantage of the base paths and when not too.

Given how aggressive these teams are, we're in store for some incredible plays from this series. This is a great series to kick off the 2022 MLB postseason.

About the author

Jared "Bloomy" Bloom is a journalist covering Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda and a former college baseball pitcher from Illinois, who just graduated with a Master's degree in Sport Psychology.

A writer with over 3 years of experience, Jared is consistently more concerned with quality than quantity, thoroughly checking multiple sources of information, and prides himself in being knowledgeable not just about MLB, but the game of baseball in general. He loves breaking down plays and game-changing moments, as well as looking closer into players' statistics.

Jared is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan, and one of his earliest memories is seeing his great-grandfather, a huge Sox fan, in his rocking chair watching a game. Jared started playing from the age of 5 with his grandfather coaching him early on.

Jared loved Tim Lincecum for his quirky delivery and looked up to him as a role model when playing. His current favorite is Phillies star Bryce Harper, an exciting player who doesn't let injuries hold him back. Jared's favorite sports moment is Mark Buehrle's opening day between-the-legs glove flip to first base in 2010.

When he is not watching or writing about baseball, Jared can be found racing BMX at his local Rockford BMX track or coaching his local youth travel baseball team.

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MLB fans excited for the Cleveland Guardians match up against the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Wild Card series: "Guardians revenge for 2013", "Rays are getting the W"

The Cleveland Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays are similar baseball teams