Freddy Peralta gave Tampa Bay six sturdy innings, and one messy fourth inning gave the Rays all the room they needed Tuesday night. Liam Hicks delivered the two-run single that broke it open as Tampa Bay beat Cleveland 3-1 at Tropicana Field, pulling the American League Championship Series even at one game apiece.
The result
Peralta allowed four hits, struck out six and kept the Guardians from finding an early foothold. The right-hander walked off after the sixth to a crowd chanting his name, having ended his night by getting Petey Halpin to swing through a full-count changeup.
The decisive inning began with Junior Caminero drawing a walk against Cleveland rookie left-hander Parker Messick. Victor Mesa Jr. then hit what was initially called a double play, but Tampa Bay challenged both force calls. Replay changed the ruling at first, putting Mesa aboard.
Jonny DeLuca struck out, but Chandler Simpson beat out a high bouncing ball to short. Mesa moved to third when Jose Ramirez did not get back to the base in time. Ben Williamson followed with a grounder that caught the seam between the artificial surface and the infield dirt, slipped beneath Ramirez’s glove and rolled through his legs. Williamson reached second, Simpson took third, and Tampa Bay had the bases arranged for Hicks.
Hicks sent the next pitch into right-center for a two-run hit and a 3-0 Rays lead. The sellout crowd of 32,125 answered with towels, cowbells and plenty of noise.
Those three runs were unearned against Messick, who gave up six hits over five innings in a difficult return to the ballpark he attended while growing up. The rookie took the loss.
Cleveland had a chance in the seventh. Kevin Kelly recorded two outs before leaving two runners aboard for Ian Seymour, who watched Chase DeLauter slice an RBI double into the right-field corner. The Guardians had runners at second and third, but Seymour struck out Jo Adell on a changeup to limit the damage.
Seymour then worked a clean eighth, and Bryan Baker handled a perfect ninth for his fourth save of the postseason.
Ramirez’s error stood in contrast to his recent October heroics. His two-run homer in Game 5 of the Division Series against Chicago helped Cleveland erase an 0-2 series deficit, making the Guardians the 11th club to rally from that position in a best-of-five set. Cleveland had also entered Tuesday on a four-game postseason winning streak, its longest since opening the 2016 playoffs with six straight victories en route to the World Series.
Tampa Bay, a 98-win club that swept the Yankees before dropping Monday’s opener 7-3, also got a reassuring night from Caminero. He remained in the lineup after colliding with DeLuca while chasing a ninth-inning foul ball in Game 1. In the fifth, the third baseman made a diving grab to his left on Steven Kwan’s hard liner, then wagged a finger toward the Cleveland hitter. Caminero appeared in every regular-season game and hit 42 homers.
Peralta’s work continued a turnaround that began after Tampa Bay acquired him from the Mets at the trade deadline. He went 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA across 10 Rays starts after carrying a 4.99 ERA with New York.
The best-of-seven series moves to Cleveland for Game 3 on Thursday night.
