The Cleveland Guardians’ run ended the way nobody in that clubhouse wanted it to: with a 7-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay closed out the series four games to two, punched its ticket to the World Series, and left Cleveland with the kind of ending that sticks.
Stephen Vogt didn’t try to soften it afterward. When asked what he told his players in the clubhouse, he opened with a blunt three-word message: “let it hurt.”
“Let it hurt. That hurts.
I couldn’t be more proud of our group. This hurts.
This stings. Felt like we really had a team to go…let it hurt.
Let it sink in. Let it fuel you this winter,” Vogt said.
Vogt said the loss stung because he believed this group had a real chance to go all the way, even after the Guardians had climbed to a 2-1 series lead. Tampa Bay answered by winning the final three games, turning Cleveland’s near miss into an abrupt finish.
Still, Vogt made a point of saying how proud he is of everyone connected to the team - not just the players, but the coaches, the support staff and the front office too. His message was as much about recognizing what the Guardians built as it was about processing the disappointment of coming up short.
That disappointment comes after a season in which Cleveland kept finding ways to survive. Its playoff odds fell to 24.4 percent in mid-August.
By Sept. 3, the club was 70-70 and three games behind the White Sox. Then the Guardians went 15-6 down the stretch to claim a third straight AL Central title.
They kept pushing after that. Cleveland dropped the first two games of the division series at home, then became the first team in franchise history to rally from a 2-0 deficit by winning three straight elimination games against Chicago. After that, the Guardians took two of the first three against a Rays club that had won 98 games in the regular season.
Vogt has now guided Cleveland to three division titles in his first three seasons as manager, along with two ALCS trips. His postgame message suggested he expects the group to carry this loss into the winter and use it as a springboard for next year.
There’s plenty in place to make that believable. The young core gained postseason reps on a big stage.
Parker Messick and Gavin Williams held down the rotation, and Williams produced one of the most dominant postseason strikeout runs in baseball history. Chase DeLauter set a franchise record for hits by a rookie in a single postseason, while Travis Bazzana, Petey Halpin and Daniel Espino each had their moments.
José Ramírez also gave Cleveland flashes of the player it knows, despite dealing with the effects of hand surgery all season. The Guardians expect him to be fully healthy in 2027.
The loss will linger for a franchise that has not won a World Series since 1948. But Vogt’s message was clear: don’t rush past the pain. Feel it, remember it, and let it push the group forward.
The Rays will begin the World Series against the Brewers on Friday in Milwaukee. For Cleveland, winter starts now, and Vogt wants the hurt to travel with them.
In Other News...
Junior Caminero Just Delivered A Statement The Rays Needed Most
Junior Caminero had been putting together the kind of at-bats the Rays could live with, even before the ball started leaving the yard. In Game 6, though, the production finally matched the process, as his two-run homer in the seventh inning stretched Tampa Bays lead to 5-1 at a crucial moment with the World Series in sight.
It was a welcome breakthrough for a young hitter who had been working through some earlier struggles, and it came with the sort of timely impact that can change the tone of a postseason run. Kevin Cash had already pointed to Camineros quality at-bats, and now the Rays have a reminder that even when the numbers have lagged, the contact has not gone away. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Turn To An Unexpected Arm In Must Win Game 6
The Guardians are reaching for a different look as their season hangs in the balance, turning to right-hander Shawn Armstrong as the opener for Game 6. It is the kind of October move that says plenty about where things stand, especially after Tampa Bay got a steady lift from Drew Rasmussen in Game 5, when he worked seven innings and allowed just one run.
Cleveland had hoped rookie Parker Messick could settle the matchup early, but he was gone after a brief outing and the margin for error only shrinks from here. Freddy Peralta is lined up to take the ball for Tampa Bay in Game 6 after a strong run of recent starts, leaving the Rays with a more familiar script and the Guardians searching for a way to keep the series alive. [Read more 🡒]
Rays One Win Away As Game 6 Bat Could Change Everything
The Rays head into Game 6 with a chance to punch their ticket to the World Series, and the questions around how this one plays out are as much about power as they are about pressure. Tampa Bay has leaned on timely offense all series, and as the matchup shifts again, the focus lands on whether this game turns into one of those nights when a single swing can tilt everything.
Jonathan Aranda has become one of the more intriguing names in the conversation after what he has done at the plate lately, while Cleveland still has Jos Ramrez as the kind of bat that can change the tone of a postseason game in one at-bat. On the mound, Freddy Peralta gives Tampa Bay a strong starting point, and Clevelands bullpen approach means the Rays may not get many clean looks before the late innings decide whether the series ends here or heads back for one more round. [Read more 🡒]