The Guardians will barely have time to let Saturday’s champagne dry before walking into Tropicana Field for the opening pitch of the American League Championship Series. Cleveland’s 2-0 Game 5 win over the White Sox at Progressive Field carried the club out of the Division Series and into a Monday night matchup with the Rays, who arrive rested and rolling.
Game 1 is set for 8 p.m. ET Monday, with TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max carrying the broadcast. It is Cleveland’s first trip to the ALCS after rallying from an 0-2 hole in a postseason series, something the franchise had never previously done.
A short turnaround meets a rested Tampa Bay club
The Rays had four days between rounds after sweeping the Yankees in three games. Tampa Bay spent the regular season near the top of the American League and kept that form into October, setting up a demanding test for a Cleveland club that had to use all five games against Chicago.
Drew Rasmussen is lined up to take the ball for the Rays in the opener. His Division Series debut was dominant: one hit allowed, eight shutout innings and 10 strikeouts against New York. Tampa Bay is expected to follow him with Freddy Peralta and Nick Martinez in Games 2 and 3.
Cleveland’s longer Division Series likely removes co-aces Gavin Williams and Parker Messick from consideration for the first game. Left-hander Foster Griffin could receive the assignment after providing one of the key relief performances of the previous round, striking out seven White Sox hitters across 2 2/3 innings in Game 3.
Regular-season results favor the Rays, but margins were tight
Tampa Bay took five of the six meetings between the clubs and held a 20-8 advantage in runs. Still, that record came with some close finishes. Aside from an 11-3 Rays win on July 24, every game was settled by three runs or fewer. Three were one-run decisions, including two 1-0 Tampa Bay victories.
Williams accounted for Cleveland’s only win in the season series. On April 29, he worked 7 2/3 innings, gave up only an unearned run and struck out nine. Messick was sharp in two losses to Tampa Bay: he yielded one run while fanning nine over 5 2/3 innings on April 27, then allowed one run with six strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings on July 26.
Caminero presents the central problem
The Rays bring power at the top of the order in Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda, but their offense does more than wait for the long ball. Tampa Bay advances runners, attacks on the bases and is willing to bunt whenever the situation calls for it.
Junior Caminero remains the centerpiece of that lineup and carries an added Cleveland connection. The Guardians signed him in 2019 before sending him to Tampa Bay in a 2021 trade.
“We have to get him out,” Chris Antonetti, Cleveland’s president of baseball operations, said. “I’m not looking forward to that. But I’m glad we have the opportunity to try.”
Ramírez has found his October rhythm
Cleveland’s lineup was quiet early in the White Sox series before gaining traction as the round moved along. Jo Adell, Steven Kwan, Chase DeLauter and José Ramírez all produced more consistently during the three straight wins that sent the Guardians forward.
Ramírez supplied the loudest work. After opening the Division Series without a hit in his first two games, he went 5-for-12 over Games 3 through 5, with four extra-base hits, two home runs, seven RBIs and five runs scored.
That kind of surge gives Cleveland a chance against the Rays, but the Guardians will need more than one hot bat. Against Rasmussen and a Tampa Bay staff arriving with fresh arms, the next step will depend on whether Cleveland’s supporting cast can keep creating innings around its star third baseman.
