Yandy Diaz didn’t bother hiding how the Tampa Bay Rays are feeling after their 3-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the ALCS on Sunday.
Through Rays insider Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times, Diaz delivered a straight-up promise ahead of Game 6:
“It’s a great opportunity. All of us are thinking of it.
But it all ends tomorrow. We're gonna win tomorrow,” Diaz boldly said.
Diaz backed up that confidence with production, too. The designated hitter collected three hits and scored once, starting with a single to right field off an 84 miles per hour changeup before lining another single after seeing an 85 mph sweeper.
He wasn’t the only Tampa bat doing damage. Jonathan Aranda finished with two hits and drove in a run, while Chandler Simpson also posted two hits and scored a run.
The Rays’ latest win came in the same 3-1 fashion as their Game 2 victory, giving them their second three-run win of this American League Championship Series.
Tampa had already dug out of a 2-1 hole in the series, and now it sits one win away from baseball’s biggest stage. The Milwaukee Brewers are waiting after sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in the National League Championship Series.
A win would give the Rays their third American League pennant since the 2008 season and their first AL title since the truncated 2020 season, when the team fell to the Dodgers 4-2 in a series moved to Texas because of COVID-19.
In Other News...
Rays Are Suddenly One Home Win From The World Series
The Rays walked out of Game 5 in control of the series, riding a fast start and a steady night on the mound to move within one more win of the World Series. Jonny DeLuca, Jonathan Aranda and Liam Hicks helped set the tone early, while Drew Rasmussen gave Tampa Bay exactly the kind of start it needed in a closeout opportunity, turning in seven innings of one-run ball before Bryan Baker handled the ninth.
Now the pressure shifts back home, where the Rays will get their next chance to finish the job in front of their own crowd. The setup is exactly what every October team wants, but it also leaves one more hurdle between Tampa Bay and a spot on the sport's biggest stage. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Head Home With One Massive Chance Still To Take
The Rays are heading back to Tropicana Field with the AL Championship Series in their hands after outlasting the Guardians 3-1 in Cleveland to move within a win of the World Series. Drew Rasmussen gave Tampa Bay exactly what it needed in Game 5, covering seven innings and allowing just one run, while the bullpen finished the job and kept the series momentum squarely on the Rays side.
Bryan Baker closed it out for his fifth save of the postseason, preserving a victory that gives Tampa Bay two chances at home to finish the job. The pressure now shifts to St. Petersburg, where the Rays can finally try to turn a strong road trip into a pennant-clinching finish. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Are One Win Away Thanks To Their Most Frustrating Strength
The Rays keep finding ways to win even when the power isnt there, and Game 5 was a clean example of how their identity can be more annoying than explosive. Drew Rasmussen did his part by keeping Cleveland in check, and Tampa Bay backed him with the kind of defense and baserunning that has defined this run more than any one big swing. In a series that has produced only two Rays homers, the margin has often come down to details, and the Rays have been sharp enough in those areas to tilt it their way.
Now they are sitting one win from a trip further into October, with a 3-2 series lead and the kind of formula that can travel. The offense has been built around contact, pressure on the bases and enough timely execution to support the pitching, while the fielding has been just as important in holding Cleveland down. For a club that can look frustratingly ordinary at the plate, it has also been remarkably effective, and the last step is there if they can keep turning those small edges into another result. [Read more 🡒]