The Tampa Bay Rays are walking into the ALCS with a clear edge, and it has everything to do with time.
After sweeping the New York Yankees in three games, Tampa Bay wrapped up its ALDS on Wednesday evening, Oct. 7.
That means the Rays won’t play again until Monday, Oct. 12, when Game 1 of the ALCS begins at Tropicana Field. While the Guardians and White Sox are still grinding through a five-game series, the Rays get to sit, reset and line everything up exactly the way they want.
That kind of layoff can cut both ways. Some will point out that Tampa Bay has already had plenty of rest, especially for pitchers who never got into a game during the ALDS. The Rays’ last regular-season game came on Sept. 27, and only a small group of arms were actually used against New York: starters Drew Rasmussen, Freddy Peralta and Nick Martinez, along with relievers Cam Booser, Kevin Kelly and Bryan Baker.
Still, the bigger reality is simple: Cleveland and Chicago would much rather be in Tampa Bay’s spot right now than heading into a decisive Game 5. The Rays are already through, already set, and already able to prepare for the ALCS without any uncertainty hanging over them.
Kevin Cash now gets to arrange his pitching staff with no complications. Games 1 and 2 are back-to-back, but Tampa Bay won’t have to deal with the off days that were built into the ALDS after Games 1 and 2. That gives the Rays a chance to deploy their arms exactly as planned.
And the rest matters even more because of the way Tampa Bay handled the Yankees. Booser and Kelly combined for just 1.1 innings across three appearances.
Baker threw one inning, finishing off each game. Rasmussen worked eight innings in Game 1, Peralta went 4.2 innings in Game 2 and Martinez got through 3.2 innings before he was struck by a comebacker.
Ian Seymour and Griffin Jax, both of whom shifted from relief roles to starts during the season before moving back to the bullpen, also helped cover the remaining innings. That leaves Tampa Bay in a strong position physically, with the staff coming in fresh while Cleveland and Chicago have had to lean on at least four pitchers in every game so far, constantly mixing openers and bulk-inning arms just to survive.
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