Saturday, October 17, 2026 — a day late, the Rays got even.
The Rays beat the Guardians 7-3 at Progressive Field on Saturday to tie the American League Championship Series at two games apiece. Game 4 had been pushed back a day after Friday’s rainout.
How Tampa Bay Pulled Away
Cleveland struck first on a Chase DeLauter RBI single in the first inning, and the score stayed tight into the sixth. That’s when Junior Caminero lined an RBI double to give the Rays the lead.
The seventh inning broke it open. Tampa Bay scored three times, and a Guardians mistake helped: on Jonathan Aranda’s RBI single, the ball slipped under DeLauter’s glove in the outfield, allowing a second run to score. Cleveland got two back in the bottom half on a Travis Bazzana homer and a Brayan Rocchio RBI single, but Yandy Díaz put it away with a two-run homer in the ninth.
The Pitching
Nick Martinez gave the Rays 5⅓ strong innings, allowing one run. Then Kevin Cash made an aggressive move, bringing in Freddy Peralta — his Game 2 starter — in relief. It was a sign of how much the Rays valued this game, and it worked.
A Best-of-Three
The series is now effectively a best-of-three. Game 5 is Sunday afternoon in Cleveland, with Parker Messick facing Drew Rasmussen, before the series moves back to Tropicana Field for Game 6 on Monday and, if needed, Game 7.
Cash pointed to that advantage, noting the Rays play well at home in front of their fans. Stephen Vogt, for his part, expects the series to go down to the wire.
The Read
The Guardians had a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead at home and instead gave the Rays extra outs. In a series this close, mistakes are magnified — and with two of the last three games in St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay now has the edge.
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