The Tampa Bay Rays will learn their American League Championship Series opponent late Saturday night, and they will meet whoever survives at Tropicana Field.
Cleveland and Chicago play a winner-take-all Game 5 of their AL Division Series on Saturday night. The winner opens the ALCS against Tampa Bay in Game 1 on Monday at the Trop, MLB.com reported. The Rays earned the extra rest by sweeping the New York Yankees, closing the series with a 4-3 win in the Bronx on Wednesday night. It sends Tampa Bay to its first ALCS since 2020.
Rasmussen set for Game 1
The sweep's biggest payoff is Drew Rasmussen. The right-hander, who posted a 2.67 ERA during the regular season, held the Yankees without a hit through 7 2/3 innings in ALDS Game 1 and finished with eight scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts in a 1-0 win, according to MLB.com. Because the series ended in three games, he never had to make his scheduled Game 4 start. That lines him up to open the ALCS and, if the series goes long enough, start up to three times in the best-of-seven.
Tampa Bay's bullpen also came out of the Yankees series lightly used. Manager Kevin Cash pulled starters Freddy Peralta and Nick Martinez early and leaned on left-hander Ian Seymour and right-hander Griffin Jax for multiple innings, while closer Bryan Baker picked up three saves.
Two tired staffs on the other side
Cleveland and Chicago cannot say the same. Road teams won each of the first four games of their series, CBS Sports reported. Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams got the final three outs of Thursday's 9-5 win in Chicago on 18 pitches in his first major league relief appearance, then told manager Stephen Vogt he wanted the Game 5 start.
"Gavin wants the ball. We want him to have the ball, and it's his game," Vogt said Friday.
Williams will face White Sox right-hander Sean Burke, who is 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA against Cleveland this season, according to NBC Sports. It will be the first time in seven White Sox playoff games that manager Will Venable sends out a traditional starter instead of an opener.
