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CLEVELAND — Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians was postponed because of rain Friday night.
Major League Baseball was hoping there would be a three-hour window of dry weather to get the game in, but the showers never let up.
“It never cleared out the way they were hoping. It started to get later in the hour, and MLB and I think both clubs did everything they could to try to get it in,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Made the most sense, like, at this point and this hour, with no guarantee that there wasn’t another band coming.”
The teams will resume their playoff series Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, with Game 5 also at Progressive Field on Sunday at 5 p.m., and Game 6, if necessary, on Monday at 8 p.m. in St. Petersburg, Florida.
“We knew how many days ago that today was going to be a challenge. Numerous weather calls, numerous back and forths, and ultimately MLB decided we needed to wait it out,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Obviously it’s an important game, and we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to play the games when they’re scheduled. But MLB ultimately decided to wait this one out.”
It is the first time an ALCS game has been postponed since 2019, when the New York Yankees were hosting the Houston Astros.
The Guardians have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after Petey Halpin’s two-run homer propelled them to a 3-2 victory in Game 3 on Thursday afternoon.
Both teams will stick with their scheduled Game 4 starters from Friday. Cleveland will go with a bullpen game, with Shawn Armstrong being the opener. Nick Martinez will pitch for Tampa Bay.
It will be Armstrong’s fifth appearance this postseason. The right-hander has allowed only one hit in 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts.
Armstrong thought his season was done in late July when he strained a calf muscle, but he returned during the final week of the regular season.
Armstrong was drafted by Cleveland in the 18th round in 2011 and made his big league debut four years later. He was traded to Seattle in 2017 and spent time with four other organizations, including Tampa Bay, before signing with the Guardians this season.
“I think I said it to (Erik) Sabrowski, whenever we were standing in the outfield in Game 2 in Tampa — obviously I played here, I got drafted here, coming back here and being able to be in this situation is — words can’t describe it,” Armstrong said before Game 3 on Thursday.
Martinez started Game 3 of the Division Series against the New York Yankees. He went 3 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts. The right-hander was 15-6 during the regular season and ranked sixth in the AL with a 3.10 ERA. He was third in the AL with 26 starts in which he allowed three runs or fewer.
“It’s just like my starts throughout the year; it’s going to be a dogfight going in, just to see how many outs I can get for this team. It’s important,” he said Thursday.
The teams might have to play the final four games of the series without a day off, culminating in a potential Game 7 on Tuesday. That could be welcome news for the Milwaukee Brewers, who have a week off before they open the World Series at home on Oct. 23 against the Cleveland-Tampa Bay winner.
Milwaukee is in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1982 after completing a four-game sweep of the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series on Thursday night.
“We’ve got four games in a row. We have an opportunity to win some games and move on. And that’s all we’re focused on,” Vogt said.