The Rays’ top of the order arrived in Cleveland carrying October frustration, then left Progressive Field looking like the engine of Tampa Bay’s club again. Yandy Díaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero combined for six hits and five RBIs in a 7-3 Game 4 victory over the Guardians, pulling the American League Championship Series even and sending it back to Tropicana Field for Game 6 on Monday night.
Key takeaways
- Tampa Bay’s first three hitters rebounded from a combined 5-for-34 start to the ALCS by going 6-for-14 in Game 4.
- Aranda drove home the tying run in the third inning and added a two-run triple in the seventh.
- Caminero broke a 1-1 tie with a sixth-inning double against Daniel Espino.
- Díaz capped the Rays’ scoring with a two-run homer in the ninth, his first postseason home run since 2019.
- The 7-3 result restored Tampa Bay’s home-field edge and assured a return to St. Petersburg.
The top of the lineup finds its October footing
Kevin Cash has called Díaz, Aranda and Caminero Tampa Bay’s “Big Three,” though he has another name for them when the bats go quiet: “Los tres pequeños” — the three little ones. There had been reason for that teasing before Saturday. Entering Game 4, the trio had produced one RBI while striking out 13 times in the series.
Aranda had been hitless in his first 11 ALCS at-bats when he stepped in during the third with two outs and Díaz on second. Cleveland left-hander Foster Griffin got ahead of nothing, and Aranda sent a 1-0 sweeper into center field to bring Díaz home and make it 1-1.
“It was good to watch everybody get in sync,” Aranda said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “We knew it was going to happen eventually. The three of us getting going can help carry us through these next games.”
That was only the beginning. Caminero nearly had his signature October swing in the fourth, driving a ball to the deepest part of center at 110.7 mph with a 29-degree launch angle. Statcast had recorded 264 previous balls hit at least 110 mph within the 28-to-30-degree launch-angle range, and every one had cleared the fence.
Caminero’s did not. Center fielder Petey Halpin covered the ground, crashed into the wall and held on.
The 22-year-old did not let that missed opportunity linger. In the sixth, he jumped on a high fastball from Espino and lined it into left field for a double that put Tampa Bay ahead. The ball left his bat at 110.2 mph, sailed over third baseman José Ramírez and scored the go-ahead run.
After reaching second, Caminero turned toward the Rays dugout, beat his chest and put a finger to his lips. It was a pointed answer after his Game 3 line: 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.
“I know who I am, and everyone knows who I am,” Caminero said. “The people here have supported me, so that was my way of saying, ‘Be quiet,’ because we know who I am.”
Cash saw the swing as a possible turning point for one of his young stars. “That was a major move in the right direction for him,” the manager said. “It would not surprise me if he gets hot now and does plenty for us.”
Aranda and Díaz finish the job
The Rays added separation in the seventh, and Aranda again was at the center of it. With two runners in scoring position, he bounced a ball through Cleveland’s drawn-in infield toward right field. The ball continued past Chase DeLauter’s glove, allowing both runners to score while Aranda raced all the way to third.
Chandler Simpson followed with a sacrifice fly to bring Aranda in. Aranda said the night gave him something concrete to take into the rest of the series.
“I felt very good about what I found in this game,” Aranda said. “It is something I can build from going forward.”
Díaz supplied the final blow in the ninth. Facing Matt Festa with two strikes, he lifted an 0-2 fastball just beyond the right-field wall for a two-run homer. It was only the fourth 0-2 home run of his career and his first in the postseason since he homered twice against Oakland in the 2019 AL Wild Card Game, his first playoff appearance with Tampa Bay.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Cleveland had handled the Rays’ first three hitters well through the opening three games, but could not repeat the formula in Game 4.
“That is a difficult first three to navigate,” Vogt said. “We felt we had executed against them early in the series. We did not execute tonight, and they made us pay.”
Rays starter Nick Martinez had seen enough from the group to expect a response. “You cannot hold those guys down for long,” he said. “They are always working and always competing.”
By the end of the evening, Caminero was smiling at Cash’s running nickname. “The three little ones right there,” he said. “The boys did a pretty good job today. We are really happy with this group, and we have to keep it going tomorrow.”
