The Rays have their man for Game 6, and they’re putting the ball in Freddy Peralta’s hand with a World Series trip within reach.
Tampa Bay announced that Peralta will start Monday night’s ALCS showdown against the Cleveland Guardians, with the Rays one win away from closing out the series and reaching the Fall Classic. The club holds a 3-2 lead after winning the last two games in Cleveland, and now gets the chance to finish the job back at Tropicana Field.
Peralta has already played a huge role in this postseason push, and Tampa Bay is leaning on him again when the margin for error is gone. In Game 2, he carved through Cleveland with six scoreless innings, giving up four hits and striking out six in a 3-1 Rays win. He later came out of the bullpen in Game 4, needing just nine pitches to record two outs.
That Game 2 outing also featured a career-high 99.4 mph fastball, another reminder of how electric his stuff has looked during Tampa Bay’s playoff run. The Rays landed Peralta from the New York Mets at the trade deadline, and the move is now sitting at the center of their October hopes.
Cleveland, meanwhile, is dealing with uncertainty of its own. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt has ruled out ace Gavin Williams for Game 6 after Williams threw 70 pitches in Game 3, and the Guardians are expected to lean heavily on their bullpen.
Tampa Bay will also be happy to be back home. The Rays went 58-27 at home during the regular season and postseason combined this year, and they’ll try to use that comfort to their advantage with the pennant on the line.
If the Rays finish the series Monday, it would send them to the World Series for the third time in franchise history and the first time since 2020. The Milwaukee Brewers are already waiting after winning the National League pennant.
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Guardians Face A Real October Decision On Travis Bazzana
Travis Bazzana has given the Guardians plenty to like at the plate, but October is exposing the other half of the equation. The rookie second baseman has been productive offensively, yet his defensive growing pains have been hard to ignore, with seven errors at second base this season and a rough night in a recent game against the Rays putting the issue back in focus.
Stephen Vogt has already shown he is willing to make late-game changes at the position, using Angel Genao as a defensive substitute during the postseason. With the Guardians trying to squeeze every out of a tight game, the question is no longer whether Bazzanas bat belongs in the lineup, but whether his glove can hold up enough to keep him in the starting role. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Just Got An Added Insult Before Elimination Game In Tampa
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Yandy Daz did not try to soften the moment afterward. The Rays designated hitter sounded confident the series would end in Tampa, while also giving Drew Rasmussen a nod for the way he has pitched throughout the matchup. For Cleveland, it adds another layer of pressure before a game that will decide whether the season continues or stops in Florida. [Read more 🡒]
Travis Bazzana May Have Just Changed Cleveland's ALCS Outlook
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Even in a loss, Bazzanas best postseason showing to date mattered for a club that needed a jolt and got one from a young bat in a pressure spot. Cleveland heads into the next phase with the ALCS tied at two games apiece, and if this keeps up, the rookie's emergence could end up being one of the defining stories of the series. [Read more 🡒]