Rays vs. Guardians: Cleveland claims Game 3 victory in ALCS
Taylor Walls #6 of the Tampa Bay Rays tags out José Ramírez #11 of the Cleveland Guardians at second base during a stolen base attempt in the first inning in game three of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field on October 15, 20
CLEVELAND - The Cleveland Guardians edged out the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 3 on Thursday at Progressive Field to capture a 2-1 lead in the American League Championship Series.
Game 3 recap
Big picture view:
This was the Rays first time hitting the road for the ALCS, but it was a lack of hitting that spelled their fate. Junior Caminero had four strikeouts, but it was the entire lineup that struggled against Cleveland pitching.
During the bottom of the second inning, Nathaniel Lowe roped a Griffin Jax pitch into the right field corner, which took a weird bounce off the fence and allowed Jo Adell to score from first, bringing Cleveland 1-0.
At the top of the fourth inning, the Rays had runners at first and second, and Chandler Simpson delivered a line drive into the right field corner. Diaz and Mesa scored and Simpson was in at third with a stand-up triple. That brought the score 2-1 with the Rays leading.
However, the bottom of the fifth inning brought a runner on first for Cleveland with Petey Halpin taking Griffin Jax deep with a no-doubter to right-center. The two-run shot made it 3-2 for the Guardians.
During the top of the eighth, the Rays had Jorge Mateo 90 feet away, and Yandy Diaz went down swinging on a 10-pitch at bat. With the Rays down to their final out, Victor Mesa Jr. popped out in foul territory in left field, leading to a loss for the Rays.
Rays & Guardians split first two games
The backstory:
Cleveland took Game 1 with a 7-3 victory Monday, overcoming Tampa Bay to grab the early series lead.
The Rays responded Tuesday with a 3-1 win behind a strong performance from starting pitcher Freddy Peralta, who threw six scoreless innings, allowed four hits and struck out six.
Tampa Bay broke through with three runs in the fourth inning after a fielding error by Cleveland third baseman José Ramírez. On the very next pitch, Liam Hicks delivered a clutch two-run single to help give the Rays the lead, and the bullpen held Cleveland to one run.
Closer Bryan Baker showed his emotions after recording the save and preserving the win to even the series.
Baker made history Tuesday night, becoming the first player to allow zero hits and earn the save in four straight playoff games.
Why Game 3 matters for Tampa Bay
Why you should care:
The best-of-seven ALCS shifted to Cleveland for Games 3, 4 and 5. The Guardians will take a 2-1 series lead and put itself in position to move closer to the American League pennant.
For the Rays, the challenge was carrying their Game 2 momentum into a road environment. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash acknowledged the atmosphere at Progressive Field, where Cleveland's fans helped energize the Guardians during their American League Division Series comeback against the Chicago White Sox.
The Guardians, meanwhile, will look to continue to take advantage of home-field support after splitting the opening two games in St. Petersburg.
The series winner will advance to the World Series, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 23.
What's next:
Game 4 is expected to be played between the Rays and Guardians on Friday in Cleveland with a start time of 5 p.m., but the question remains if those plans will stay intact.
There is weather expected Thursday night in Cleveland that could continue into Friday.
If that happens, Game 4 could be postponed. FOX 13's Scott Smith said if it has to be postponed, Game 4 could be pushed to Saturday with Game 5 possibly being played on Sunday.
Game 6 and 7, if needed for the series, would be played in St. Pete at Tropicana Field.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered during the American League Championship Series games and includes previous FOX 13 News reports.