Griffin Jax gave Tampa Bay a chance to take control of the American League Championship Series on Thursday, but Petey Halpin’s fifth-inning two-run homer turned Game 3 toward Cleveland and left the Rays staring at a 3-2 defeat at Progressive Field.
The result
Cleveland now holds a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven ALCS after riding Gavin Williams, a deep bullpen and Cade Smith’s late work to a one-run win. The Rays managed three hits and one walk, striking out 13 times against a Guardians staff that has kept finding ways to make Tampa Bay chase.
The Rays briefly had the upper hand in the fourth. Chandler Simpson drove a two-run triple to put Tampa Bay ahead, providing the sort of pressure that had helped the club win Game 2. But the lead did not last.
Patrick Bailey opened Cleveland’s fifth with a high chopper that dropped behind the mound. Jax could not make the play, and five pitches later Halpin punished a 2-2 sinker left over the plate, sending it into the right-field seats for the decisive two-run shot.
“He handles offspeed pitches well, so I thought it was the right choice,” Jax said. “It was simply in the wrong spot.”
Tyler Wells and Steven Matz each covered two scoreless innings after Jax, keeping the Rays within a run and giving the lineup a path back into the game. The opening arrived in the eighth, when pinch-runner Jorge Mateo reached third with Yandy Díaz at the plate against Smith.
Díaz fought through a 10-pitch at-bat, fouling off six offerings, but his bat broke on the final swing as Smith recorded the strikeout. Smith then struck out Junior Caminero for the fourth time before Victor Mesa Jr. lifted the final out to left field.
Tampa Bay had just one hit after the fourth inning. The club that led the American League in batting average and posted the fewest strikeouts in the Majors during the regular season missed on 24 of 70 swings Thursday.
“We have to hit,” manager Kevin Cash said. “To win games like that, you have to be perfect. I’m very confident they’ll respond and be ready.”
The Rays’ 13 strikeouts were their second-highest total of the season, behind a 14-strikeout game in Milwaukee in the fourth contest of the year. Through three ALCS games, Tampa Bay has collected 17 hits and five walks while striking out 27 times in 100 plate appearances.
“Every one of their starters and relievers is pretty elite,” Cash said. “They have plenty of ways to make you miss.”
No Rays hitter felt that pressure more sharply than Caminero. The All-Star slugger went down four times, missing on eight of 11 swings. It was his first four-strikeout game this season and only the second of his career; he had never before missed on eight pitches in one game.
His first strikeout came on a low sweeper. The other three came on elevated fastballs, pitches at least four feet off the ground. Caminero had struck out on that kind of high heat only six times during the regular season.
“It’s part of baseball,” Caminero said. “I don’t want to strike out four times, but I’ll turn the page, come back fresh tomorrow and put this one behind me.”
Díaz credited Cleveland’s pitching plan rather than any one pitch or matchup.
“They’re pitching very intelligently,” Díaz said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “In the postseason, the teams that use their pitching best are the teams that move on. So far, they’ve pitched very well. That’s why they have two wins.”
Caminero said the Guardians have not necessarily treated him differently than other opponents have, but the adjustment now belongs to Tampa Bay.
“They have pitched us very well, but that’s what they do,” Caminero said. “They’ve done it all year, against us and against everyone else. We have to be better, make adjustments and go from there.”
The rotation next
Game 4 is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. ET, with coverage on TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max. If the Brewers complete a sweep of the Dodgers on Thursday night, the start time would move to 8 p.m. ET.
