The Guards kept Game 3 in their pocket thanks to pitching that kept tightening the screws all night and a pair of timely swings that flipped the game back their way.
The biggest reason was “The Big Rig,” who looked every bit as sharp as he has all postseason. He opened by retiring the first nine hitters he saw and punched out five along the way.
That early command gave the Guards the kind of runway they needed, and they cashed in first. Jo Adell worked a walk after a called strike three was overturned on review, then Nathaniel Lowe hammered the first pitch he saw 111.4 MPH for an RBI double to put the Guards on the board.
Tampa Bay answered in the fourth. Yandy Diaz opened the frame with a double, and then The Big Rig struck out Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero.
After he worked around Victor Mesa Jr. with a two-out walk, Chandler Simpson came through for the Rays, lining a 102 mph double down the right field line on a sweeper that ran in on his hands. The Rays took a 2-1 lead there, even if the pitch wasn’t exactly a gift.
The game settled into a stretch where both sides started trading zeroes. Griffin Jax retired the Guards quietly in the fourth after giving up Lowe’s double in the second, and The Big Rig came back with another quick inning in the fifth.
Then the Guards grabbed the game back.
Patrick Bailey reached on an infield single on a high chopper over the mound, a play that looked a lot like one from The Trop in Game 2. With a runner aboard, Petey Halpin stepped in and absolutely launched a 105 mph line drive into right-center field, sending the Guards back in front 3-2.
From there, it turned into a bullpen fight. Tyler Wells and Steven Matz combined for four shutout innings for the Rays, allowing just one hit and no walks.
But the Guards’ relief group matched it pitch for pitch. Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis, and Cade Smith teamed up for four scoreless innings, giving up only one hit and no walks.
Cade Smith had the biggest test in the eighth, coming in with two outs and a runner at third to face Yandy Diaz. After a 10-pitch battle that included six foul balls, Smith finally won it by getting Diaz to strike out on a 98 mph heater up in the zone.
He needed only eight pitches to finish the ninth. Jonathan Aranda floated a lazy fly ball to center, Caminero struck out, and Victor Mesa Jr. fouled out near the wall in foul territory on a nice grab by Steven Kwan, with the wind carrying the ball toward the seats and the crowd loving every second of it.
The Guards will try to go up 3-1 Friday night at 6:00pm. As of now, neither team has a probable starter listed.
The forecast for Friday night looks rough, so there’s a real chance the game gets pushed back and the next two could end up being played Saturday and Sunday instead. We’ll have to wait and see.
In Other News...
Guardians' Most Painful Trade Looks Even Worse After New Report
The 2021 swap that sent Junior Caminero from Cleveland to Tampa Bay has long lingered as one of the organizations toughest second guesses, and fresh reporting only adds another layer to the regret. The Guardians moved the then-rising prospect for pitcher Tobias Myers, a deal made with the hope of solving a pitching need while parting with a young hitter who was still far from the majors.
Now the sting is not just what Cleveland gave up, but how close the Rays came to asking for something else from the system before settling on Caminero. Xzavion Curry was among the minor leaguers Tampa Bay initially sought, and the fact that Caminero has developed into a top prospect while Myers and Curry have had quieter big league careers makes the trade look even harder to defend in hindsight. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Schedule Change Created An Unusual MLB Playoff Ripple
MLBs postseason calendar picked up an odd little domino effect Wednesday, with the league moving Game 4 of the NLCS between the Dodgers and Brewers up an hour to 8 p.m. ET. The change did not come out of nowhere. It followed the earlier decision to shift ALCS Game 3 between the Guardians and Rays from 6 p.m. ET to 1 p.m. ET because of expected inclement weather, a reminder of how one playoff adjustment can ripple across the rest of the bracket.
For Cleveland fans, the practical part is simple: the team confirmed that tickets and parking passes will still work for the new start time. The bigger picture is a postseason schedule that can still bend quickly around weather, TV and the rest of the leagues needs, even as the Guardians try to stay focused on the field rather than the clock. [Read more 🡒]
Gavin Williams Is Giving Guardians Fans Another Reason To Believe
Gavin Williams has already done his share to fuel Clevelands October run, and now he is looking to add something else to the mix as the Guardians head into the next round. The young starting pitcher said he wants to be a more vocal leader as the club prepares for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, a sign of how quickly he has grown from power arm to one of the voices in the room.
Williams backed up that confidence with his latest outing, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts in the series-clinching win over the Chicago White Sox. Cleveland now turns to a Game 3 matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays, set for 1 PM ET Thursday after a weather-related delay from the original 6 PM start, and the Guardians will be hoping their emerging starter brings the same edge both on the mound and in the clubhouse. [Read more 🡒]