Petey Halpin’s first postseason homer flipped Game 3, and Cleveland’s pitching did the rest to move the Guardians ahead of Tampa Bay in the ALCS.
By The Beat Writer — CelebnMusic247
Milwaukee already has its World Series ticket punched. Cleveland is now halfway to claiming the other one.
The Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday afternoon at Progressive Field, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, per the Associated Press. In a series this tight, the difference was a single swing in the fifth inning — and a pitching staff that refused to give Tampa Bay another opening after it landed.
That swing belonged to Petey Halpin. After Patrick Bailey reached on a chopper that Rays starter Griffin Jax could not field cleanly, Halpin worked a 2-2 count and drove an elevated 95.9 mph sinker 385 feet into the right-center field stands, according to AP. It was Halpin’s first home run of the postseason, and it turned a 2-1 deficit into the 3-2 lead Cleveland protected the rest of the day.
The early innings had tilted back and forth. Nathaniel Lowe put Cleveland in front in the second with an RBI double that scored Jo Adell. Tampa Bay answered in the fourth, when Chandler Simpson tripled home Yandy Díaz and Victor Mesa Jr. to grab a 2-1 edge, per Reuters. That was the last real noise the Rays made.
Gavin Williams set the tone on the mound for Cleveland. The right-hander struck out nine over five innings, allowing two runs on two hits and one walk, per AP. He is now 2-0 this postseason with a 2.16 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings across four appearances, including three starts — the kind of October workload that turns a good rotation arm into a series story.
Then the bullpen took over and squeezed the game shut. Daniel Espino, Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith combined to allow just one baserunner over the final four innings, and Cleveland retired 16 of Tampa Bay’s last 17 hitters, according to AP. Smith provided the biggest out of the night in the eighth, stranding a runner at third by winning a 10-pitch battle against Díaz, then closed with a perfect ninth for his second save of the series, per Reuters.
Tampa Bay’s frustration showed in the box score. Rays hitters were retired in order in seven innings and struck out 13 times — nearly matching the 14 strikeouts they totaled in the first two games combined — with Junior Caminero fanning four times, per AP. Against Williams and the relievers, Tampa Bay managed only three hits all afternoon, according to Reuters.
Context makes Cleveland’s run harder to dismiss. The Rays arrived as the American League’s top seed after a 98-64 regular season, while the Guardians won the AL Central at 85-77. Yet Cleveland has now won five of its last six playoff games since falling behind the Chicago White Sox 2-0 in the Division Series, per AP. José Ramírez added two hits in Game 3, giving the Guardians production from the top of the order to match the pitching.
Game 4 is set for Friday night in Cleveland, with first pitch scheduled for 8 p.m. ET, though rain is in the forecast, per AP. A win would put the Guardians one victory from their first World Series appearance since 2016, and a date with Milwaukee when the Fall Classic opens October 23. For Tampa Bay, the math is simpler: find some offense fast, or head home for Game 6 facing elimination.
Sources: Reuters ; NBC Sports
