After the weather didn’t cooperate yesterday the Guardians and Rays are ready for another try to get Game Four of the ALCS in this evening. Tonight isn’t an absolute must-win game for the Rays but it’s pretty close. They’ll need to steal one either tonight or tomorrow in Cleveland if they want to force this series back to Florida. Better for them if they knot this series up this evening. Will the extra rest help or hinder either of these squads?
Rays at Guardians (5:08 PM PST)
There’s no change in the pitching plans for either team
today. Tampa Bay is sticking with right-hander Nick Martinez (15-6, 3.10 ERA) for tonight’s critical contest. He’s been yet another successful reclamation project for the Tampa organization as he’s more than delivered on the one-year deal he got last offseason. He’ll be parlaying that into a bigger payday in a couple months and a big outing tonight could net him a few extra million dollars on his next contract. Not like he needs any more motivation than a trip to the World Series, but still.
Here’s Tampa’s starting nine for this one:
As for Cleveland, they’re sticking with the bullpen game strategy, beginning with right-hander Shawn Armstrong (2-1, 4.58 ERA). The veteran reliever has never started a game in the playoffs and has minimal experience in that role. Manager Stephen Vogt had an extra day to reconsider this decision and is sticking with Armstrong. We’ll see if that works out for the Guardians, who are just two more wins away from the World Series.
And the Cleveland starting lineup:
Who takes tonight’s contest? If you’re rooting for a seven-game series then you’re hoping to see a Rays win. If however you want to see fan favorite Stephen Vogt lead his team to the Fall Classic you’ll be rooting for Cleveland in this one. Either way, stakes are getting higher and higher!
