ALCS Update: Rays and Guardians Battle

It looks like at least six games will be needed to determine the American League champion.

The Tampa Bay Rays leveled the ALCS at two games each after defeating the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 4.

Early in the game, the Guardians took the lead when Chase DeLauter hit an RBI single to bring Steven Kwan home in the first inning. However, their offense went silent shortly thereafter.

The Rays answered back in the third inning with a two-out rally. Yandy Diaz doubled, followed by Jonathan Aranda, who drove him in, tying the game. Then in the sixth, Junior Caminero came through with a significant RBI double, giving the Rays a 2-1 advantage, although they missed the chance to add more there.

At the start of the next inning, the Rays had runners on second and third with no outs and the top of their order up. Diaz struck out, but Aranda managed to bring in both runners, extending Tampa Bay’s lead to 4-1. He later scored on a sacrifice fly.

In response, Cleveland trimmed the lead in the bottom of the inning and even got the tying run to the plate but failed to capitalize fully. To secure the win, Diaz hit a crucial two-run homer in the ninth, just out of DeLauter’s reach.

For All-Star closer Bryan Baker, a four-run lead felt quite secure. He managed to get a double play after a leadoff single and struck out Angel Martinez to wrap up the game.

This series has yet to see a team win consecutive games. Rain postponed play on Friday, which pushed Game 4 and Game 5 back a day each. Game 6 is still on for Monday, with no additional breaks scheduled.

Game 5 is set for Sunday at 5:08 p.m. ET.