Rays Beat Guardians 7-3 to Tie ALCS at 2-2

CLEVELAND. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 on Saturday night at Progressive Field to tie the American League Championship Series at two games each. Jonathan Aranda drove in three runs, Yandy Diaz hit a two run homer in the ninth, and a Cleveland error in right field opened the door in a three run seventh inning.

Cleveland struck first. Steven Kwan singled, took second on a wild pitch by Nick Martinez, and scored on Chase DeLauter's single at the end of a nine pitch at bat. Tampa Bay tied it in the third when Diaz doubled and Aranda singled him home.

The seventh inning decides it

The Rays took the lead in the sixth. Daniel Espino walked Aranda and Chandler Simpson, and Junior Caminero doubled home Aranda for 2-1. Tim Herrin then escaped a second and third, nobody out jam, getting Simpson at the plate on a ground ball to first, and the score stayed 2-1.

The seventh broke the game open. With Taylor Walls and Richie Palacios in scoring position and one out, Aranda drove a ball into right field off Slade Cecconi. Two runs scored, Aranda reached third on DeLauter's error, and Simpson's sacrifice fly made it 5-1.

Cleveland answered in the bottom half. Travis Bazzana hit the first playoff home run of his career off Ian Seymour. Patrick Bailey singled off the left field wall, Angel Martinez singled, and Brayan Rocchio singled home Bailey to make it 5-3. Kwan grounded out to end the inning, and the Guardians never got closer.

Diaz closes the door

Cleveland's last real chance died in the eighth, when Cam Booser struck out pinch hitter David Fry with a runner on. In the ninth, Palacios singled off Matt Festa, Walls bunted him over, and Diaz drove a two run homer the other way that barely cleared the right field wall for 7-3. The Rays bullpen finished a scoreless ninth, and the series was even.

In the fourth inning, Petey Halpin gave Cleveland the defensive play of the night, running down Caminero's drive at the center field wall and holding on as he crashed into it. Statcast measured the drive at 110.7 mph and 410 feet. It kept the game tied at the time, but the Rays kept finding runs anyway. Tampa Bay finished with 11 hits and no errors. Cleveland had eight hits and two errors.

A tied series goes to Sunday

Game 4 was postponed from Friday, Oct. 16, by rain, the first ALCS postponement since 2019, and played Saturday with first pitch at 8:08 p.m. ET before a sellout crowd. Cleveland won Game 1 by 7-3, Tampa Bay took Game 2 by 3-1, and Cleveland won Game 3 by 3-2 on Halpin's two run homer.

Game 5 is Sunday, Oct. 18, at 5 p.m. ET in Cleveland. The winner takes a 3-2 lead into Game 6 on Monday in St. Petersburg. The series winner faces the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series, which opens Oct. 23. Tampa Bay is one of five franchises that have never won a World Series. Cleveland last won one in 1948.

For Cleveland, Foster Griffin threw 3.2 innings with five strikeouts and one run allowed after Shawn Armstrong opened with a scoreless first. Martinez, the winning pitcher, held Cleveland to one run into the sixth.