Freddy Peralta Makes Rays History in ALCS Beating Guardians

The Tampa Bay Rays let a golden opportunity to protect home field and take a 1-0 lead in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians slip away.

Scoring two runs in the bottom of the first, they maintained a two-run lead through five innings. In the sixth inning, the Guardians woke up and built momentum, scoring at least one run in each of the last four innings for a 7-3 final score.

Blowing leads isn’t something the Rays have done often, and it put a lot of pressure on the team heading into Game 2. They could not afford a sweep at home and needed to even things up at one win apiece heading into three games at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

On the mound looking to achieve that goal was Freddy Peralta, who stepped up big time for his squad in a 3-1 victory. He performed so well against the Guardians that he ended up matching some impressive franchise history in the process.

Freddy Peralta has been dominating for Rays

According to Rays Communications on X, Peralta is only the second pitcher in Tampa Bay history to have a scoreless quality start in the ALCS or World Series. The only other hurler to achieve that feat is Scott Kazmir, who threw six innings against the Boston Red Sox in the 2008 ALCS on the road at Fenway Park.

So, Peralta is the first pitcher in Rays history to achieve this feat in front of the home fans at Tropicana Field. The crowd has been raucous for all of the team’s playoff games, showing up and throwing support behind their team.

The veteran righty certainly thrived off them. Like Kazmir, his scoreless quality start spanned six innings, which is the longest postseason outing of his career. Peralta allowed only four hits and issued two walks to go along with six strikeouts.

It was the exact kind of start that Tampa Bay needed from their trade deadline acquisition. Peralta’s tenure with the Rays got off to an incredibly rocky start, but over his last eight outings, including the postseason, he has been performing like an ace.

Game 2 makes it eight straight starts in which he has allowed one or fewer earned runs; in four of those starts, he has thrown shutouts. He closed the regular season with 34 innings pitched over his last six starts with a 0.79 ERA and 27 strikeouts. Only one home run was allowed after giving up five in his first four starts with the club.

In the postseason, Peralta has made two starts. He has thrown 10.2 innings with nine strikeouts. The only run scored against him was a solo home run by New York Yankees slugger Ben Rice in Game 2 of the ALDS.

An impending free agent, each time he takes the mound, Peralta is improving his stock and earning himself more money.