The first game of the American League Championship Series was going splendidly for the Tampa Bay Rays, until it wasn’t.
The Rays offense took a 2-0 lead early and Drew Rasmussen battled through a tough Cleveland offense for six innings. He was hit around a bunch, but worked around trouble. Unfortunately, the Guardians were able to launch a pair of solo homeruns to tie the game and boot Rasmussen from the game. Then the Rays bullpen, which was absolutely nails in the ALDS, unraveled and allowed the Guardians to score
five runs over the final two frames and Cleveland cruised to a 7-3 game one victory.
Tonight the Rays will look to even out the series before it heads to Cleveland on Thursday and they’ll rest their hopes on Freddy Peralta.
Not many pitchers produced better results than Peralta over the last month of the season. The league certainly didn’t think so as Peralta was named the American League Pitcher of the Month in September.
During the ALDS, the Rays called upon Peralta to start the second game against the New York Yankees. Following Drew Rasmussen’s dominance from the day before, Peralta was excellent as he held the Yankees hitless over the first three frames. The unstoppable Ben Rice ended that in the 4th when he launched a solo homerun and then Peralta’s command abandoned him in the 5th inning leading to Kevin Cash going to the bullpen. Overall, Peralta worked 4.2 innings, allowing a run on three hits, while he walked one and struck out three.
The Rays offense will have a tough challenge as Cleveland sends southpaw Parker Messick to the mound. Messick was fantastic during his brief run with the Guardians towards the end of the 2025 season. In 2026, Messick proved that was no fluke as he dominated opposing lineups. Over 32 starts, Messick compiled a 2.56 ERA | 3.07 FIP with a 25.8 K% & 6.6 BB% over 186.1 IP. He finished among the league leaders in most important pitching categories.
During their ALDS, the Guardians called upon Messick twice. Usually Messick has impeccable command but it faltered during his two outings as he walked 19.4% of the opposing hitters he faced over 6.2 IP. Overall, Messick allowed 4 runs on 6 hits, while he walked 6 and struck out 11 over his appearances. He most recently pitched on the 8th in game four, where he was pulled in the third inning after allowing two runs on two hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
The Rays offense continues to sputter in the playoffs and the team will need more from their offensive stars if they hopes to advance further. The team as a whole currently has a 67 wRC+ and is hitting .209/.261/.341 over their four playoff games thus far, averaging just over 3 runs a game.
Will the Rays be able to overcome Parker Messick and rediscover their offensive footing? We’ll find out later tonight.
