The Rays got back to doing what they do best Saturday night and now the American League Championship Series is all square.
After scoring just eight runs in the first three games against the Guardians, Tampa Bay’s offense woke up from a postseason-long slumber in a 7–3 Game 4 victory. Contributions came from up and down the lineup as the Rays turned the ALCS into a best-of-three showdown. After waiting an extra day thanks to Thursday’s rainout, Tampa Bay delivered the kind of complete team performance it has relied upon all season.
After falling behind 1–0 in the first inning, the Rays responded in the third. Yandy Díaz doubled and scored on a Jonathan Aranda single. From there, pitching took over, and the game remained deadlocked into the sixth.
Rays starter Nick Martinez was an All-Star for the first time this season and showed why Saturday night. After allowing those two first-inning hits, he shut Cleveland down, finishing with one run allowed on two hits over 5 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out three. It continued a season-long pattern against the Guardians. Martinez was 2–0 with 13 scoreless innings and seven hits allowed in two starts against Cleveland during the regular season. Tampa Bay needed someone to step up and get the team back into the series. Martinez was more than up to the task.
The Rays finally broke through in the sixth, thanks to Junior Caminero, who has struggled all series. The 23-year-old slugger entered the night 2-for-11 with seven strikeouts over the first three games, but he came through when Tampa Bay needed him. With Aranda and Chandler Simpson aboard after back-to-back walks, Caminero hammered a 97 mph fastball from Daniel Espino into the left field corner, scoring Aranda and sending Simpson to third to give his team a 2–1 lead.
Tampa Bay wasn’t taking any chances with that slim advantage. With Cleveland threatening in the bottom of the sixth, manager Kevin Cash turned to Game 2 starter Freddy Peralta with one out and a runner aboard. Using Peralta in relief showed just how urgently Cash wanted to even the series. The righty got Steven Kwan to line out and walked José Ramírez before retiring Chase DeLauter on a fly ball to center to end the threat.
The Rays extended the lead in the seventh with the kind of rally we haven’t seen from them in this series. Aranda delivered a two-run single and advanced to third on an error from DeLauter. Simpson followed with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 5–1. The Guardians, intent on making it a ballgame, rallied for two runs in the bottom half to make things interesting. The Rays had an answer ready. Díaz hammered a two-run home run to right in the ninth, extending the lead to 7–3 and putting the game out of reach.
Six Rays recorded hits Saturday night and seven reached base. They were 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position after going 1-for-6 in Game 3. It was the kind of balanced offensive performance we’ve come to expect from the Rays this season. Six of the team’s regulars had a wRC+ of 123 or higher, while Tampa Bay’s team mark of 104 tied for fifth in MLB. While Caminero has become the face of the franchise, the team’s real star is its balance.
The pitching staff showed the same balance Saturday. After Martinez gave the Rays exactly what they needed from his start, Peralta was willing to come out of the bullpen to protect the lead despite only being on three days’ rest. Four more relievers combined to finish the game off, helping Tampa Bay reclaim home-field advantage in the series.
The stakes in Game 4 were enormous for the Rays. A loss would have put them on the brink of elimination against a team that boasts a stellar pitching staff. Instead, they head into Game 5 with renewed momentum and the knowledge that the series will return to Tampa Bay.
The ALCS is now a best-of-three series and neither team has maintained the upper hand for long. Cleveland held the Rays’ offense in check for the first three games, but that changed on Saturday. If the Rays can continue to build big innings the way they did in Game 4, this series could be theirs.
It feels like the Rays we’ve watched all season finally showed up to this series in Game 4.
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