The Rays didn’t need fireworks Tuesday night. They needed mistakes, and they were ready when the Guardians handed them a few.
That’s how Tampa Bay pulled out a 3-1 win in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series at Tropicana Field, evening the series at one game apiece before it shifts to Cleveland. It was the kind of inning the Rays have leaned on all year: messy for the defense, relentless for the offense, and built on the idea that if the other team slips even once, they’ll make it hurt.
“They’re a very similar team to us, so I think we knew going into it this whole series is going to be a dogfight,” outfielder Jonny DeLuca said. “Any way we could scratch and claw and get runs across, we’re going to take.”
Tampa Bay’s decisive push came in the fourth against left-hander Parker Messick, and it hardly looked threatening at first. Junior Caminero opened the inning with a walk, then Victor Mesa Jr. chopped a ball toward second baseman Travis Bazzana. The Guardians nearly had the start of a double play, but Bazzana’s flip to shortstop Brayan Rocchio came a beat late, and a review confirmed Mesa was safe.
“We didn't get quite a good feed or quick turn,” Vogt said. “Any time your rhythm is broken up on a double-play ball like that, it's going to be tough to really turn it.”
DeLuca struck out, but Chandler Simpson kept the inning alive with pure hustle. He chopped a ball just in front of the plate, and the bounce stayed kind enough for Rocchio to field it cleanly.
It still wasn’t enough to get Simpson at first. At the same time, Mesa spotted an opening that changed the inning completely: no one was covering third.
Instead of stopping at second, he kept going and took the extra base.
Simpson didn’t even realize what had happened at first.
“Chandler, he's able to impact the game in so many different ways. Mesa taking third on that play, that's kind of Rays baseball encapsulated there,” catcher Liam Hicks said. “Any time the defense is on their heels, we're able to take advantage.”
Then came the play that really cracked the inning open. Ben Williamson hit a 2-1 changeup to the left side, and José Ramírez was in position to make the play.
But the ball took a strange hop off the lip of the infield turf, glanced off the top of Ramírez’s glove, then slipped between his legs and rolled into left field. Mesa scored, and the Rays had the first run.
“José Ramírez is as good as any third baseman there is in the game, and we were fortunate to maybe catch a break there,” Cash said. “But once you catch the break, it's kind of what you do with it.”
Hicks then delivered the swing that finished the job. Batting eighth rather than in his usual cleanup spot against right-handers, he adjusted to a first-pitch slider from Messick that stayed up in the zone and drove it to right-center field for a two-run hit that brought home Simpson and Williamson.
“Liam picked us up in a big way,” Cash said.
That was enough support for a pitching staff that handled the rest. Peralta was in control, and Kevin Kelly, Ian Seymour and Bryan Baker finished the job without letting the lead go.
“It did feel like a very Rays inning,” Cash admitted.
The Guardians had the kind of night Tampa Bay has tried to force all season. They made the mistake, and the Rays made them pay.
“They've done that all year,” added Guardians manager Stephen Vogt. “When they smell blood, they take it and run.”
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