Gavin Williams gave Cleveland another October start to build around, and Petey Halpin supplied the swing that sent Progressive Field into a full-on shake. The Guardians took Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, 3-2 over Tampa Bay on Thursday, and now carry a 2-1 series edge with two more home games ahead.
| ALCS Game 3 | R | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Rays | 2 | 1 |
| Guardians | 3 | 2 |
Williams sets the afternoon tone
The game had been moved from a scheduled 6 p.m. ET start to 1 p.m., but the early first pitch did nothing to quiet Cleveland. Fans filled Progressive Field and stayed on the Rays from the opening innings.
Williams worked five innings and struck out nine. Tampa Bay managed its two runs on Chandler Simpson’s triple into the right-field corner, but the Cleveland right-hander kept the Rays from finding the larger rally their lineup needed.
| Gavin Williams, 2026 Postseason | Total |
|---|---|
| Innings pitched | 16 2/3 |
| Strikeouts | 33 |
| Strikeout rate | 45.9% |
Williams’ 45.9% postseason strikeout rate is the highest ever for an MLB pitcher with at least 10 postseason innings, ahead of Corey Knebel’s 44.6%. He has emerged as one of the defining arms of this October.
Halpin’s fifth-inning answer
Cleveland’s decisive blow came in the bottom of the fifth. Halpin turned on a 96 mph sinker from Griffin Jax and drove it into the right-field seats for a two-run homer that put the Guardians in front.
Halpin backed away from the plate as he watched the ball carry, then started toward first. Once it landed in the bleachers, he tossed his bat skyward in celebration.
“I sort of went blank,” Halpin said afterward, admitting he could not fully explain the bat flip. “It was fun.”
For a Tampa Bay club that led the American League with 98 regular-season victories and swept the Yankees in the Division Series, the position is unfamiliar. The Rays now need to win in a ballpark that was at its loudest when Halpin’s home run cleared the wall.
The pressure will continue to fall on the Tampa Bay offense, particularly Junior Caminero. The young star is still looking for his first career postseason homer, while the Rays wait for their bigger bats to alter the direction of the series.
Game 4 waits under a rain forecast
Game 4 is set for Friday in Cleveland at 6 p.m. ET, airing on TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max. If the Brewers complete a sweep of the Dodgers on Friday night, the first pitch would shift to 8 p.m. ET. Rain is also in the forecast, so both clubs are preparing for the possibility of another adjustment.
The Guardians are two victories from the World Series. History gives the Game 3 winner a meaningful edge: teams breaking a 1-1 tie in a best-of-seven series have won 71 of 102 series, a 70% rate. In the current 2-3-2 format, home teams that won Game 3 to move ahead 2-1 have finished the job 30 times in 49 chances, or 61%.
Cleveland has the lead, the crowd and Williams’ latest masterpiece in the books. Now it has a chance to push Tampa Bay to the brink before the series leaves town.
