Rays Offense Finally Comes Alive to Even ALCS With Guardians

The Tampa Bay Rays had been sputtering through the first three games of their ALCS matchup with the Cleveland Guardians, losing two out of the first three games.

A big reason for the struggles has been their inability to generate offense consistently. In Game 1, they scored three runs, but two of them came in the first inning. Cedric Mullins provided the third one with a solo home run off the bench.

In Game 2, the only offensive production came because of an error by third baseman Jose Ramirez, which resulted in all three runs being unearned to Parker Messick. But the Rays won the game.

Game 3 was a true struggle at the plate. Tampa Bay managed only three hits, and both of their runs came courtesy of a Chandler Simpson triple. It was frustrating, but with Game 4 being delayed one day and pushed back a day, something clicked for the team.

Rays offense picks up in Game 4

On Saturday evening, the Rays looked like a completely different team at the plate. They still struck out more than normal, going down 12 times via strikes, but they were able to generate more than enough offense to even the series at 2-2.

Tampa Bay had 11 hits, with Jonathan Aranda finally breaking out of his slump with three hits. Near the bottom of the order, Richie Palacios came through as well with three hits of his own, scoring two runs.

The Rays’ Big 3, which hasn’t been performing at a very high level thus far, all stepped up at different points in Game 4. Aranda went 3-for-4 and didn’t strike out, scoring two runs with two RBI and a walk.

Junior Caminero looked to bust out of his slump a little bit. He had a double in the sixth inning that put Tampa Bay ahead 2-1 and nearly hit a home run that Petey Halpin made a great play battling the wind to make a play while falling down into the wall.

Caminero did chase a few times, going down on strikes twice, but it was nice to see him break through with a big hit. Yandy Diaz provided the final blow in the top of the ninth inning.

After the Guardians scored two runs off Ian Seymour to cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the eighth, Diaz got those runs back with a two-run home run, just clearing the wall and Chase DeLauter in right field.

Hopefully, the Rays can keep this positive momentum up at the plate. Runs are at a premium with two strong pitching staffs, but the Tampa Bay bats look to be waking up at the right time.