Today, the AL could get one step closer to joining its Senior Circuit brother in the World Series. The Brewers finished off a sweep of the Dodgers last night, so they’ll be sitting at home waiting to see who comes out of this one. Game 4 is set for 8 pm in Cleveland, if the weather lets it happen. Rain has already delayed this series once, and rain and intermittent showers are expected as the evening goes on.
The Guardians took Game 3, 3-2, thanks to a two-run homer from Petey Halpin, so they lead the series 2-1. Tampa Bay has never trailed an ALCS 2-1 before. A win tonight would put Cleveland one game away from the World Series. A Rays win sends us back to square one as a best-of-three.
Tampa has fiddled with the lineup a little from Game 4, with Chandler Simpson now hitting third and Junior Caminero in the cleanup spot. Tampa’s starter, Nick Martinez, went 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA in 180 regular season innings. Martinez’s history against Cleveland should make Guardians fans nervous: two starts in the regular season, 13 innings, zero runs. The Rays need him to hold the line because their bats went quiet in Game 3. Díaz, Aranda, and Caminero went a combined 1-for-12, and Caminero struck out four times. Chandler Simpson has been their spark plug so far.
Tampa Bay lineup
- Yandy Díaz – DH
- Jonathan Aranda – 1B
- Chandler Simpson – LF
- Junior Caminero – 3B
- Liam Hicks – C
- Victor Mesa Jr. – RF
- Jonny DeLuca – CF
- Richie Palacios – 2B
- Taylor Walls – SS
Cleveland is running it back with the exact same lineup from Game 3. That’s fine because José Ramírez and Chase DeLauter have been on fire, OPS’ing 1.038 and 1.438 respectively this postseason. Cleveland took its time announcing a starting pitcher, and voila, it is none other than old friend Shawn Armstrong, the right-hander who in three seasons in the Baltimore bullpen posted a 5.34 ERA (was it really that high?). Anyway, this is another Cleveland bullpen game. You might expect Joey Cantillo will probably cover a good chunk of it after Armstrong, and Tanner Bibee and Slade Cecconi are available for bulk outings. Also, Cade Smith has been lights out this postseason, with a 1.00 ERA and 13 strikeouts in nine innings.
Cleveland lineup
- Steven Kwan – LF
- José Ramírez – 3B
- Chase DeLauter – RF
- Jo Adell – DH
- Nathaniel Lowe – 1B
- Travis Bazzana – 2B
- Patrick Bailey – C
- Petey Halpin – CF
- Brayan Rocchio – SS