Rays Bring the Guardians Back to Reality, Book a Trip to the World Series

The Rays looked the part of the American League’s No. 1 seed for the last three nights, and are headed to their third World Series in franchise history as a result.

Tampa Bay finished off Cleveland with a 7–3 victory in Game 6 of the AL championship series on Monday night, ending an offensive resurgence that had briefly transformed the Guardians into a World Series contender.

Cleveland went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and two of its runs came courtesy of reliever Ian Seymour, who walked in one run and hit Angel Martinez to force in another during a rough eighth inning. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, benefited from a pair of two-run homers by Junior Caminero and Yandy Diaz.

After falling behind the White Sox 2–0 in the ALDS, the Guardians erupted for nine runs in Game 3. Then, facing elimination again in Game 4, the unlikeliest of heroes stepped up. Catcher Patrick Bailey’s pinch-hit home run sparked a comeback and kept Cleveland’s season alive. Suddenly, a lineup that had struggled all season came to life. Cleveland turned that into a stretch of five wins over six games, carrying that momentum to a 2–1 series lead over the Rays. In those wins, the Guardians scored 30 runs, showing an offensive spark that had eluded them for much of the season. 

But in their four ALCS losses, they scored a total of eight runs. For the series, the Guardians went  7-for-35 with runners in scoring position, including 4-for-23 after Game 1. 

While José Ramírez and rookie Chase DeLauter performed this postseason, the rest of the lineup largely struggled. Ramírez (.908), DeLauter (.848) and Patrick Bailey (.788) produced solid OPS numbers, but didn’t get help from their teammates. Nathaniel Lowe (.646), Jo Adell (.624), Steven Kwan (.564), Travis Bazzana (.559) and Brayan Rocchio (.354) failed to make a consistent impact and challenge opposing pitching staffs. That lack of production matched Cleveland’s offensive struggles during the season. 

The Guardians finished the regular season 27th in home runs (162) and slugging (.380), 24th in runs (678) and tied for 21st in wRC+ (97). Tellingly, Cleveland ranked 26th in OPS with runners in scoring position (.708). That mark plummeted to .576 in the ALCS. 

The offense struggled to produce at a high level all season, and it fell off a cliff against the Rays. 

Tampa Bay’s pitching staff was stellar throughout the ALCS. In Game 1, the bullpen allowed five runs over the final two innings, but the staff quickly recovered. Rays pitchers surrendered just 11 runs over the final 44 innings of the series, an ERA of 2.25. The starting rotation was sturdy all along, surrendering eight earned runs and 28 hits over 33 ⅔ innings (2.14 ERA). 

No one exemplified that dominance more than Freddy Peralta. The 30-year-old trade deadline acquisition rediscovered himself over the past few months, culminating in an ALCS MVP performance against the Guardians. He started Game 2 and earned the win after throwing six shutout innings, then came out of the bullpen in Game 4 to earn a hold by recording the final two outs of the sixth inning. He was back on the mound for Game 6, allowing one run and five hits over 5 ⅓ innings, earning his second win of the series. 

Peralta was 5–9 with a 4.99 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP when Tampa Bay acquired him from the Mets before the deadline. The Rays immediately went to work, instructing him to only pitch from the stretch, to speed up his delivery and to throw more changeups, among other minor changes. It worked. Over Peralta’s last 10 appearances (nine starts), he is 7–0 with a 0.89 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 39 strikeouts while allowing just five earned runs in 50 ⅔ innings. 

While the Rays are headed where many expected them to be, the Guardians had to fight hard just to get this far. They finished the regular season 85–77, earning a playoff berth and a first-round bye despite having the 11th-best record in baseball. They had already fended off the White Sox down the stretch, then survived elimination three times against Chicago, turning what looked like a certain division series exit into a 2–1 lead in the ALCS. But Tampa Bay was the better team all season and proved it over six games. 

For a short stretch, the offense woke up and the Guardians showed what they could be. Then the Rays reminded them what they are.