Guardians-A's Opening Day starting pitchers: Bieber vs. Wood
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The Coliseum will forever hold a special place in Stephen Vogt’s heart. It’s where A’s fans grew an everlasting affection for his inspirational playing career, which came to an end in that very stadium in 2022 when he smashed an emotional home run in his final career at-bat. Fittingly, two years later, Vogt’s managerial career gets underway in Oakland.
The Opening Day pitching matchup will feature a pair of veterans and former All-Stars in A’s left-hander Alex Wood and Guardians right-hander Shane Bieber. First pitch is scheduled for 10:07 p.m. ET/7:07 p.m. PT on March 28 at the Coliseum.
Here is a breakdown of that pitching matchup:
RHP Shane Bieber
Previous Opening Day starts: Four, 2020-23
2023 season: 6-6, 3.80 ERA, 107 K's, 128 innings
No surprises here. Now that Bieber’s officially survived the offseason without being traded away from Cleveland, the team’s ace will return to start his fifth consecutive Opening Day. His first time getting the nod came in ‘20, which was the year he went on to win the American League Cy Young Award in the pandemic-shortened season.
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For the next three seasons, his fastball velocity began trending in the wrong direction, dipping down to 91.3 mph in 2022 and '23. Plus, his curveball wasn’t as effective as it was in his Cy Young campaign, and he began to throw it less. Bieber battled shoulder trouble in 2021 and then elbow problems in ‘23, which wasn’t helping his metrics. Once he fully recovered, he decided to go to Driveline this offseason to address these issues, and he’s suddenly looked like he’s returned to his peak form.
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His fastball has consistently hit 94 mph this spring, and the shape of his curveball looks as devastating as it used to. The Guardians need to be able to rely on their starting pitching once again this year as the young offense figures out its identity.
Although the rotation seems to be in good hands, there are still questions on how Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams (when he’s cleared to rejoin the rotation) will handle the hiccups that come in one’s sophomore season. If the team knows it can rely on a healthy, old-school Bieber, it can breathe a sigh of relief.
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LHP Alex Wood
Previous Opening Day starts: None
2023 season: 5-5, 4.33 ERA, 74 K's, 97 2/3 innings with San Francisco
Wood, who signed a one-year deal with Oakland this offseason, is rewarded with his first career Opening Day nod as he enters his 12th big league season. The veteran left-hander finds himself back in a starting rotation full-time after performing in a swingman role with the Giants last season, posting a 4.33 ERA with 74 strikeouts and 42 walks in 97 2/3 innings.
The former All-Star has proven to be a durable arm over his career by going 76-65 with a 3.74 ERA in 269 games (202 starts), and the A’s will look for him to anchor a mostly inexperienced rotation whose 738 innings pitched in 2023 were the fewest by any staff in the American League, as well as provide leadership for younger pitchers on the staff such as JP Sears, Joe Boyle, Mitch Spence and Kyle Muller.
The A’s were most excited about Wood’s strike-throwing ability, and that showed through in Spring Training, as he issued just two walks with 18 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings through his first four Cactus League starts (one of those was rained out against Cleveland on March 7).
Wood brings a track record of success against Cleveland, albeit in a small sample size. In three games (two starts) against the Guardians, he has racked up 14 2/3 scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts.