Rays beat Guardians 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead in ALCS, can clinch pennant at the Trop

The Tampa Bay Rays will try to capture their third American League pennant and first since 2020 on Monday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

Drew Rasmussen allowed one run over seven innings for his second postseason win, Tampa Bay’s offense kept on constant pressure and the Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 Sunday night to take a 3-2 lead in the AL Championship Series.

It gave the Rays consecutive wins at Cleveland's Progressive Field after losing Game 3 on Thursday.

“Momentum is big in this sport and we have it, and we’re going to keep it," Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca said.

Since the ALCS expanded to seven games in 1985, road teams winning Game 5 for a 3-2 lead have won the series four of five times.

If the Indians win on Monday, a deciding Game 7 would be Tuesday at the Trop.

"It's a great opportunity. All of us are thinking of it," Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz said. But it all ends [Monday]. We're going to win."

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Tampa Bay scored single runs in each of the first three innings, the first two off Plant City native Parker Messick and the third against Tim Herrin.

Rasmussen gave up four hits, walked one and struck out six.

“The way he limited anything was really, really impressive," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "He got in rhythm with the fastball. A lot of power to everything. Then the depth on the changeup throughout the outing was a big pitch for him.”

After Chase DeLauter’s two-out single in the first, the 31-year-old right-hander retired nine straight batters and allowed only one other baserunner through the sixth.

“Ras has done it all year, shutting them down like he did tonight," shortstop Taylor Walls said. "Sometimes it’s a little boring when he’s mowing guys down, but it was fun tonight because Cleveland was putting the ball in play. Credit to them for doing that and giving us the chance to make plays.”

Rasmussen had given up two runs over six innings in the opener, a 7-3 Guardians victory. He said the biggest change was he was able to command his changeup better. He used it only 12 times in Game 1, but threw it 27 times on Sunday, includng 21 for strikes.

“We were able to attack with the change-up a lot more tonight than we did, like I said, in Game 1. The ability to drive the cutter to the top I thought was also another strength,” said Rasmussen, who is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three postseason starts, striking out 23 and walking three.

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Cam Booser and Tyler Wells worked the eighth, with Wells striking out José Ramírez to strand a runner.

Bryan Baker came in for the ninth and converted his 35th straight save chance, his fifth of this postseason. Jo Adell was on second base when Travis Bazzana hit a game-ending groundout.

Steven Kwan had two of Cleveland’s five hits and made two fine defensive plays: He threw out Taylor Walls trying to score from second base on Jonathan Aranda's fourth-inning single to left and made a leaping catch at the center-field wall on Victor Mesa Jr.'s eighth-inning drive, saving a run.

Tampa Bay’s leadoff hitter reached base in the first four innings — scoring in the first three frames — and six times overall. Rays' leadoff batters have reached in 10 of 14 innings dating to Saturday.

Díaz had three hits while Aranda and Liam Hicks both had two hits and drove in a run.

"Yandy, I've said it for many seasons, he goes, we go," Cash said. "We talk about leaders on the team and how they go about their business. And what Yandy does at the top of our lineup, it ignites everybody."

Díaz scored on a bases-loaded walk by Messick to Jonny DeLuca in the first inning. Díaz led off with a line-drive double over center fielder Petey Halpin that rolled to the wall.

Aranda’s single drove in Ben Williamson for a 2-0 lead in the second, and Hicks looped a curveball from Herrin to center to score Chandler Simpson in the third.

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“I think we took advantage of getting ourselves in some favorable counts and getting some big hits,” Cash said. “We probably left some opportunities out there, and then they go to the bullpen, and it’s really challenging to piece together big innings when they’re mixing and matching from the third or fourth inning, whatever it was, on.”

Cleveland finally threatened in the seventh when Kwan and Ramírez singled to put runners at the corners and DeLauter grounded an RBI single between first and second.

Messick had the shortest outing of his big-league career and didn’t make it past the third inning for the second time in four postseason starts. The 25-year-old left-hander went two innings and allowed two runs, five hits and three walks over two innings, throwing just 34 of 57 pitches for strikes.

"We know how good Parker Messick is. I think we took advantage of getting ourselves in some favorable counts and getting some big hits," Cash said. "We probably left some opportunities out there, and then they go to the bullpen, and it's really challenging to piece together big innings when they're mixing and matching from the third or fourth inning, whatever it was, on. But we've got a very good offense."

Cleveland, which is seeking its first World Series title since 1948, has not won an ALCS when trailing 3-2 while the Rays are 58-27 at home this year, including the postseason.

“We know we’ve got our work cut out for us. It’s a really good team and a really good team when they play at home, especially," Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. "@e know this is going to be tough but if there’s a group I’m betting on to get this done, it’s our guys.”

For Game 6, Tampa Bay will go with right-hander Freddy Peralta (1-0, 0.79 ERA), who will make his third appearance of the series. He started Game 2 and threw six scoreless innings before pitching two-thirds of an inning on Saturday.

Cleveland has not named a starter, but Vogt ruled out using right-hander Gavin Williams.

The World Series starts Friday at Milwaukee, which won the National League Championship Series.