Cleveland leads Tampa Bay 2-1, but Friday’s washout at Progressive Field erased the series’ last off-day and set up a possible four-games-in-four-days sprint to the World Series.
By The Beat Writer — CelebnMusic247
CLEVELAND — The most important pitch of Friday night was never thrown: with ALCS Game 4 postponed, day-long rain that turned into soaking showers pushed the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays into a reshuffled schedule that now runs straight through to the finish.
MLB made the call about an hour after the scheduled 8:08 p.m. ET first pitch at Progressive Field, according to Reuters. ESPN‘s Jorge Castillo reported the postponement late Friday night, noting the unusual circumstances it creates: the off-day built into the series is gone, and if this series goes the distance, the clubs will play the final four games on four consecutive days.
ALCS Game 4 postponed: the new schedule
The new schedule, per USA TODAY: Game 4 is Saturday, October 17 at 8 p.m. ET in Cleveland. Game 5 follows Sunday, October 18 at 5 p.m. ET, also at Progressive Field. If necessary, Game 6 is Monday, October 19 and Game 7 Tuesday, October 20, both in St. Petersburg. There is one piece of ticket housekeeping fans need to know, per USA TODAY: tickets for Friday’s rained-out Game 4 will be honored for Sunday’s Game 5, while tickets for the originally scheduled Saturday Game 5 will be used for Saturday’s Game 4.
Cleveland leads the best-of-seven series 2-1. The Guardians took Game 1 in St. Petersburg 7-3, the Rays answered 3-1 in Game 2, and Cleveland edged Game 3 on Thursday 3-2 behind Petey Halpin’s two-run homer, according to the Associated Press. That Game 3 had already been moved up to a 1 p.m. start because of the forecast, AP noted, making Friday the second straight day weather bent this series out of shape. AP also reported this is the first ALCS game postponed since 2019, when the New York Yankees hosted the Houston Astros.
Neither manager is changing his pitching plan. Cleveland’s Stephen Vogt confirmed Shawn Armstrong will still open Game 4 for the Guardians, per USA TODAY — Cleveland had planned a bullpen game — and Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash confirmed Nick Martinez still starts for the Rays. Reuters listed Armstrong at 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA this postseason and Martinez at 0-0 with a 4.91 ERA.
The two skippers took the washout very differently. “This is baseball. This is Cleveland. We’re more than used to these kinds of days,” Vogt said, per USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale. Cash, per reporter Ryan Bass via USA TODAY, said he was “not frustrated at all,” adding that the rain never cleared the way anyone hoped and there was no guarantee another band was not coming.
Four games in four days, in the cold
Whoever survives gets no sympathy from the calendar — and no rest advantage either way. The Milwaukee Brewers, who swept the Los Angeles Dodgers to reach their first World Series since 1982, will be waiting with a week off when the Fall Classic opens October 23 in Milwaukee, per AP. Reuters reported temperatures in the low 40s are expected for the next two games in Cleveland. October baseball, on a compressed clock, in the cold. Game 4 cannot come soon enough.
Photo Courtesy of Instagram tntsportsus
Sources: ESPN, by Jorge Castillo, USA TODAY, Associated Press via NBC Sports, Reuters.
