Rays Take Lead in Series
The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 on Saturday, October 17, to tie the American League Championship Series at two games apiece. The contest was played at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, before a crowd of 33,355. With the series now deadlocked, both teams head into Game 5 with equal stakes. The Rays improved their record to 98-64, while the Guardians fell to 85-77.
Early Scoring and Pitching
Cleveland took the lead in the bottom of the first inning when DeLauter singled to right field, allowing Kwan to score. Tampa Bay answered in the third when Aranda singled to center, driving in Díaz to tie the game at 1-1. Nick Martinez started for the Rays, pitching 5.1 innings while allowing two hits and one earned run. He issued two walks and struck out three batters to secure the win, improving his record to 1-0. On the mound for Cleveland, Shawn Armstrong pitched one scoreless inning, striking out one batter without allowing a hit.
Seventh-Inning Surge
The decisive run came in the top of the seventh inning. Aranda singled to right, scoring Palacios on an error and Walls on a fielding mistake by DeLauter. Simpson then sacrificed fly to right, bringing in Aranda. The Rays extended their lead when Bazzana homered to right field. Cleveland responded in the bottom of the seventh when Rocchio singled to left, allowing Bailey to score. In the ninth, Díaz homered to right field, driving in Palacios to make the final score 7-3.
Bullpen Performance
Freddy Peralta recorded the save, pitching 0.2 innings without allowing a hit or an earned run. He issued one walk. Ian Seymour pitched one inning, allowing four hits and two earned runs while striking out one. Kevin Kelly pitched 0.2 innings, allowing one hit and no earned runs. Cam Booser pitched 0.1 innings, striking out one batter without allowing a hit. Bryan Baker finished the game, pitching one inning while allowing one hit and striking out one. Daniel Espino took the loss, pitching 0.1 innings while allowing one hit, one earned run, and two walks.
Sources
ESPN
