It was a big night for the Rays, with the World Series on the line and one win between them and the biggest series of the year. After showing that they finally remembered how to win, they had brought the series against the Guardians to 3-2 and were back home at the Trop hoping to give the hometown crowd an incredible show. On the mound, they had Freddy Peralta, while the Guardians were going the Opener route, a bold approach against the team that invented it. They had Shawn Armstrong up first.
In
the first, Steven Kwan got things started with a single that was knocked down just past second base by Taylor Walls, keeping it from potentially becoming a double. Peralta got the next three outs in a row, keeping the Guardians’ threat at bay. In the bottom of the inning, the Rays had trouble with Armstrong and went 1-2-3 to start the game.
Peralta was in a groove by the second inning, recovering nicely from the game’s leadoff single by getting the side out in order. In the home half, Junior Caminero got a leadoff single, and that was all she wrote for Armstrong, who was replaced by Tim Herrin. Chandler Simpson grounded into a force out, eliminating Caminero at second, but keeping one runner safely aboard. Simpson stole second, then Victor Mesa Jr. battled out a walk, putting two runners on. A Jonny DeLuca lineout down the third-base line allowed Simpson to advance to third. Mesa stole second to put both runners in scoring position. A double from Richie Palacios then brought in two runs and brought the stadium to a deafening roar early in the game as the Rays took a two-run lead.
That was it for Herrin, who was replaced by Matt Festa, and I’m not sure this whole bullpenning thing works if you replace your pitcher 10 times in one inning. Taylor Walls walked. Then Yandy Diaz was hit by a pitch—and oh boy did he look mad about it—to load the bases. Jonathan Aranda hit a flyout to end the inning, leaving a great scoring opportunity on the table, but the Rays had managed to get themselves an early lead.
In the third, with one out, Brayan Rocchio hit a single into center, but he was soon eliminated by a force out off the bat of Steven Kwan. Jose Ramirez drew a walk, which honestly, if Ramirez is going to do anything, that’s the best option besides an out. The Rays then got lucky when Liam Hicks challenged a ball call and it was overturned as a third strike to end the inning. In the home half, the Guardians dipped into their bullpen again, this time for Joey Cantillo. Hicks singled to put the first runner of the inning on base. Caminero walked. Then Simpson laid down a bunt right in front of home and made it safely to first to load the bases. Mesa Jr. hit into a force out, getting on base as Hicks was easily tagged out at home. DeLuca hit a sac fly to left, and there was simply no play at home, allowing another run to score for the Rays. Palacios hit a ball directly to first for the final out of the inning.
Jo Adell doubled to start the fourth, then old friend Nathaniel Lowe walked, putting two runners on. Then with one out, came a double play that put my jaw on the floor, with Walls intercepting a liner from Patrick Bailey between second and first, tagging out Lowe before tossing the ball to first to get Bailey out to end the inning. It was truly a thing of beauty.
Walls continued his efforts in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff walk. With one out, Aranda was hit by a pitch. One might raise an eyebrow at so many HBP already in the game, but then you remember the Guardians have used as many pitchers as there have been innings and it puts things into perspective. The Guardians dipped back into their pen, fittingly, with two outs, and got Daniel Espino to face Caminero. It worked for them, getting the third out of the inning.
With two outs, Steven Kwan worked a walk, but DeLuca worked hard for outs in the inning and got the final one on a flyout to turn the inning over. The Rays went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning.
Chase DeLauter managed a leadoff double in the top of the sixth as no one in the outfield quite knew where his hit was going to land and let it drop. With one out, Lowe singled into center to score DeLauter, and that was the end of the night for Peralta. Cam Booser came in to replace him and he got the final two outs of the inning. Peralta’s final line for the game was 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K on 84 pitches. In the home half the Rays were up against yet another pitcher in Erik Sabrowski and Palacios took him for a leadoff single. Walls bunted, resulting in an out for Palacios at second and Walls safe at first. An infield grounder from Yandy Diaz was the second out of the inning but pushed Walls into scoring position. Unfortunately, Aranda struck out to end the inning.
The Guardians went 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh. Then the next new pitcher in the bottom half was Cade Smith. Liam Hicks walked, then Caminero hit a home run off the left-field foul pole and promptly exploded with excitement. Three outs followed, but the Rays extended their lead and the air at the Trop was electric.
Tyler Wells was the new Rays pitcher for the eighth. While DeLauter was originally called the second out of the inning, the Guardians challenged the call on the field and it was overturned, putting him safely at first with a single. With two outs, Lowe got his second single of the night, and the Rays went back to their bullpen for Ian Seymour. Travis Bazzana walked, loading the bases. Patrick Bailey then walked, bringing in a run. After that, Angel Martinez was hit by a pitch, bringing in another run, and it’s safe to say this isn’t going very well at all. Kevin Kelly came in from the bullpen, hoping to get the final out with the bases loaded, and he did just that. But the Rays had certainly allowed the score to get a lot closer than was ideal.
Hunter Gaddis came in for the Guardians in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Walls drew a walk, his third of the night. Yandy Diaz then said ,“What runs?” to those Cleveland walk-ins and hit a homer to the left-field bleachers, bringing in two runs and pushing the lead up to 7-3. Even as the inning progressed, Diaz came back out of the dugout to get the crowd hyped. What a rush. The Rays wouldn’t score any other runs, but now they just needed to defend their lead.
Bryan Baker would be the reliever getting the nod in the ninth, and he did double duty covering first base for the first out of the inning. The second out came in quick succession and there was just one batter between the Rays and the World Series: Chase DeLauter. A pop-out to Hicks was it for the Guardians, and the Rays were heading to the World Series!
Final: Rays 7, Guardians 3
