The Cleveland Guardians head back to Tampa Bay for Game 6 of the American League Championship Series trailing the Rays 3-2, and the situation looks rough on the surface. Cleveland has dropped Games 4 and 5 at home, Gavin Williams is unavailable, and Shawn Armstrong will start what becomes a bullpen game. The Rays have momentum, and even Yandy Diaz thinks Tampa Bay is going to win Monday night.
And yet, for this Guardians team, that kind of setup has not exactly been a bad thing.
Cleveland has spent much of this season looking more dangerous away from home than in it. The Guardians finished just 41-40 at home, but they were 44-37 on the road.
That road comfort has shown up in the postseason, too. In the American League Division Series, Cleveland opened with two losses at Progressive Field and looked buried before turning around and winning two straight in Chicago.
Back home for Game 5, the pitching held up and Jose Ramirez delivered the only offense the club needed with a two-run homer in a 2-0 series-clinching win.
The ALCS has followed a similar script. Tampa Bay entered the matchup with 98 wins to Cleveland’s 85 and home-field advantage, so plenty of people expected the Rays to take control quickly.
Instead, the Guardians grabbed Game 1 on the road. Game 2 slipped away in part because of a rare Jose Ramirez error, but Cleveland still had the series tied 1-1 after leaving Tropicana Field.
The Guardians then won Game 3 at home before the Rays answered with back-to-back victories over the weekend.
It all brings Cleveland back to a place it has already proven comfortable living in: underestimated, on the road, and backed into a corner. The Guardians had the lowest payroll in baseball and were picked by many to trail the Detroit Tigers or Kansas City Royals in the AL Central.
Neither team ended up being the threat those projections suggested, and only Chicago pushed Cleveland in the division. The Guardians won it anyway.
They were supposed to be finished when they fell behind 0-2 in the ALDS. They weren’t.
They were supposed to be overmatched against Tampa Bay in the ALCS. They haven’t been.
Now they return to the road once more, with the Rays favored again. For most teams, that would be a bad break. For this version of the Guardians, it looks a lot like familiar ground.
In Other News...
Guardians Just Got An Added Insult Before Elimination Game In Tampa
The Guardians head to Tampa facing elimination after the Rays grabbed a 3-2 lead in the American League Championship Series with a 3-1 win in Game 5. For Cleveland, the margin for error is gone, and the next stop at Tropicana Field carries all the weight that comes with a season hanging in the balance.
Yandy Daz added to the mood around the series by sounding confident the Rays will finish the job in Game 6 on their home field, while also singling out Drew Rasmussen for the quality of his pitching in this matchup. Cleveland now has to answer not just Tampa Bays momentum, but the confidence the Rays are carrying into a potential clincher. [Read more 🡒]
Stephen Vogt Just Raised The Stakes With Cleveland's Game 6 Plan
The Guardians are choosing patience over urgency as the ALCS shifts back into a critical Game 6, with Stephen Vogt saying Gavin Williams will not take the ball on short rest. Williams last worked in Game 3, and Cleveland is keeping him lined up for a potential Game 7 on regular rest instead of pushing him into a role that could compromise what comes next.
So Game 6 becomes a different kind of test for Clevelands pitching staff, one that will lean on Tanner Bibee and a collection of bullpen arms to get through the night. Its the kind of decision that speaks to how tightly the series is being managed, with the Guardians trying to balance the immediate pressure of elimination against the possibility of needing their best arm one more time. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Turn To An Unexpected Arm In Must Win Game 6
The Guardians are making a pivot in a do-or-die moment, handing the Game 6 opener role to right-hander Shawn Armstrong as they try to keep their season alive. Cleveland has already seen what a steady postseason arm can do from the other side, with Rays starter Drew Rasmussen following up a strong run with another dominant Game 5 outing, while the Guardians are still trying to settle the top of their pitching plan after rookie Parker Messick struggled in his recent start.
Freddy Peralta is lined up to start Game 6 for Tampa Bay, adding another layer to a matchup that has tilted toward the Rays pitching depth. For Cleveland, the decision to turn to Armstrong is a clear sign of how tight the margin is now, and how much the Guardians are leaning on flexibility rather than a more traditional formula as they face one last chance to force the series on. [Read more 🡒]