CLEVELAND — A great deal of the Guardians’ pitching plans have revolved around how to best handle the top three hitters in the Tampa Bay lineup. Through three games, they had kept that trio at bay.
But Guardians pitchers struggled to contain them in Game 4, and a 7-3 Rays win tied the series 2-2. Game 5, at the rescheduled time, is set for 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18.
In Game 4, the top three in the Rays’ lineup (not including Chandler Simpson, who was only slotted third because of Cleveland using Shawn Armstrong as an opener) combined to go 6-for-14 with a home run, two doubles, five RBIs, four runs and two walks.
Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero were instrumental in the Rays coming back from an early deficit and then taking the lead, and Yandy Diaz hit a two-run home run in the ninth that put the game out of reach.
“I mean, they’re just good hitters,” said Foster Griffin, who threw 3⅔ innings after Armstrong pitched the first. “It was only a matter of time.”
Aranda tied Game 4 with an RBI single in the third inning, which followed a double by Diaz. In the sixth, Caminero’s double gave the Rays a lead they never relinquished. Caminero also drilled a ball to the deepest part of the ballpark that was caught by Petey Halpin as he crashed into the wall, but the three Rays at the top of the lineup had already done enough damage.
“They’re [three] of the best hitters in the league,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “That’s a tough [trio] there to get through. We didn’t execute against them tonight like we had talked about pregame. The first three games, felt like we executed really well against those guys, and we just didn’t tonight. And they made us pay.”
Guardians-Rays ALCS stats
The result set up a three-game sprint for the Guardians and Rays in the ALCS, with a ticket to the World Series — where the Milwaukee Brewers are waiting — on the line.
Because of the Oct. 16 rainout, there are no remaining off days in the series. Parker Messick is set to start Game 5 for the Guardians opposite Drew Rasmussen for the Rays.
The Guardians had a chance to take a commanding lead in the series, but their inability to contain the top of Tampa Bay’s order put them in a position of having to quickly rebound.
“Yeah, you just got to flush it and come back strong tomorrow,” said Travis Bazzana, who hit his first career playoff home run in the loss. “I think we’ve been in situations where it gets tough, it gets tighter, it gets harder a little closer to the end of the season and you just got to fight for that next win and be present tomorrow.
“We’ve seen this kind of situation before, and we just got to bounce back.”
If Messick is able to handle Diaz, Aranda and Caminero in a critical Game 5, the Guardians might be boarding a flight to Tampa Bay with a chance to clinch a spot in the World Series on Monday, Oct. 19. If not, and that trio continues to produce, Cleveland could be on its heels before the wheels leave the ground.
It might be a factor as important as any other in what is now, effectively, a three-game series.
Ryan Lewis covers the Guardians for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians struggle to contain Rays stars Caminero, Diaz, Aranda in loss