CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Guardians pitcher Slade Cecconi raised eyebrows July 4 after a loss to the Detroit Tigers, insisting that their postseason chances remained strong in the midst of a 10-game losing streak.

The right-hander's statement proved correct, and he will be on the mound Thursday, when the AL Central rivals play a winner-take-all Game 3 of the American League wild-card series in Cleveland.

Cecconi (7-7, 4.30 ERA) takes on Tigers righty Jack Flaherty (8-15, 4.64 ERA) in a matchup that was set up by the Guardians' 6-1 home victory Wednesday.

"My confidence came from watching how everyone in the clubhouse showed up after each one of those losses," Cecconi recalled. "Whether we smoked a team or got smoked. Whether it was the eighth, ninth, 10th in a row we lost, we showed up wit

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