ALCS Tied After Cleveland Guardians’ Game 4 Loss to Rays

The American League Championship Series has already taken a series of unexpected and surprising turns on the field and off it. Game 4 was no exception, with the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays trading leads several times.

In the end, though, it was the Rays who ended up on top 7-3, taking back home field advantage in the process.

Fans had been waiting for Game 4 to get underway for a long time, going back to Friday night's postponement, and Cleveland’s offense didn’t waste any time to give them something to cheer about.

Chase DeLauter gave the Guardians an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI single, scoring Steven Kwan from first base. That came right after Shawn Armstrong sent down Tampa Bay’s first three batters.

The momentum favored Cleveland early on, and that continued as Foster Griffin came in out of the bullpen and retired the first five Rays batters he faced.

It didn’t take long for the Rays to punch back and tie the game up, though. Tampa Bay got a little two-out rally going in the third inning after a Yandy Diaz double and a Jonathan Aranda base hit.

Then, the Rays nearly took the lead in the top of the fourth inning after Junior Caminero crushed a ball to center field. It came off the bat at 110.7 mph, but the cold temperatures in Cleveland and a slight breeze from Lake Erie kept the ball in the park.

Should it have been a home run, statistically, yes. However, a ton of credit also has to be given to Petey Halpin for making an incredible catch in center field and actually recording an out

Caminero got his revenge because he gave the Rays a 2-1 lead with a no-out RBI double off Daniel Espino in the third inning.

However, this frame could have been a lot worse for the Guardians with runners at second and third and no outs. Tim Herring, with some help from his catcher, Patrick Bailey, made sure it didn’t, though, as the Guardians retired the next three batters.

Kevin Cash was managing as if Saturday night was a must-win game, even though, record-wise, it wasn’t. After Martinez allowed the one run in 5.1 innings, he turned the ball over to his bullpen, but it wasn’t a typical reliever entering the game.

For the first time this year, Tampa Bay’s Game 2 starter, Freddy Peralta, entered the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Trusting players in situations they aren’t used to is all a part of a successful October game plan, and that’s exactly what transpired for the Rays. Peralta got out the two batters he needed to on nine pitches; he should still be in line for his next start.

This moment felt like a turning point for the Rays. Tampa Bay scored three runs the next inning, which proved to be the difference-maker. Yandy Diaz then capped off the scoring with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth. 

Cleveland did rally for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning thanks to a Travis Bazzana home run and Brayan Rocchio RBI single, but in the end, the Guardians’ attempted comeback was just a little too late.

Everything is now tied up, essentially making the ALCS a best-of-three series.

Cleveland is far from being out of this series, but Game 5 is now essentially a must-win for the Guardians before the series shifts back to St. Petersburg for Game 6 on Monday.