The Tampa Bay Rays will play the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Championship Series, which begins Monday at Tropicana Field.
The Guardians advanced by winning 2-0 in the deciding Game 5 of their AL Division Series over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.
Here is the ALCS schedule:
Game 1 – Monday at Tropicana Field, 8 p.m.
Game 2 – Tuesday at Tropicana Field, 8 p.m.
Game 3 – Thursday, Oct. 15 at Cleveland/Chicago, 6 p.m.
Game 4 – Friday at Cleveland/Chicago,6 p.m.
Game 5 – Saturday, Oct. 17 at Cleveland/Chicago (if necessary), 8 p.m.
Game 6 – Monday, Oct. 19 at Tropicana Field (if necessary), 5 or 8 p.m.
Game 7 – Tuesday, Oct. 20 at Tropicana Field (if necessary), 8 p.m.
If the National League Championship Series is over, Game 6 will move to 8 p.m.
Click here to purchase postseason tickets for Tropicana Field.
Rays manager Kevin Cash must turn in a 26-man roster for the series by 10 a.m. Monday. During an online press conference Friday, he said it would be “similar” to the ALDS lineup, which used 12 pitchers – but this time with a four-man starting rotation.
The first three starters would likely be the same as the Yankees series: right-handers Drew Rasmussen, Freddy Peralta and Nick Martinez. A decision whether to use the team’s fourth and fifth starter – righty Griffin Jax and left-hander Ian Seymour – remains. Both were outstanding in relief appearances in Game 3 against New York.
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“I would feel confident that we’re going to continue to lean heavily on those guys,” Cash said.
The Guardians won the AL Central Division with record of 85-77, one game ahead of the White Sox. As the No. 2 seed, they had a first-round bye. They became 11th team to lose the first two games of a best-of-five postseason series and then come back to win.
Jose Ramirez hit a two-run home run and starter Gavin Williams had 12 of Cleveland's 21 strikeouts, pitching 5⅔ innings two days after closing Game 4 in relief. Ramírez, who went 0-for-6 in the series losses, went 5-for-12 with two homers and seven RBIs in the three wins.
The Rays went 5-1 against the Guardians - including three shutouts - during the regular season. Tampa Bay took two of three at Progressive Field and swept a three-game set at Tropicana Field while outscoring Cleveland 20-8.
Tampa Bay has homefield advantage because it finished with the AL’s best record at 98-64, winning the AL East Division.
The Rays, who also had a first-round bye, advanced to the ALCS with a three-game sweep over the New York Yankees. Both games at Tropicana Field were sellouts, with crowds over 40,000.
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“It feels like every single game, it's exciting,” Tampa Bay outfielder Jonny Deluca said. “The crowd has been electric here at the Trop. Everywhere we play is going to be electric, so these games are super fun.”
The NLCS between the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers begins Sunday night in Milwaukee.
The winners of the best-of-seven Championship Series move onto the World Series, beginning Oct. 23. Games 1 and 2 will be played in Milwaukee or Los Angeles.
It will be the third postseason meeting of Tampa Bay and Cleveland following the Rays’ win in the 2013 wild-card game and the Guardians’ sweep in the 2022 Wild Card Series.
Tampa Bay has reached the World Series twice, losing in six games to the Dodgers in 2020 and in five games to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008.
