CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Guardians have wrested home-field advantage from the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship Series and taken a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup.
Beyond that, little is certain as the teams prepare to play Game 4 on Friday night.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt and Rays counterpart Kevin Cash will not name their starting pitchers until arriving at the ballpark, despite inquiries on the subject.
Extended periods of rain are also in the forecast, forcing MLB officials to work on contingency plans if a postponement occurs. The next two games take place in Cleveland before Sunday’s scheduled travel day.
“Having as much momentum as we can possibly have and being able to feed off of that, it’s a lot of fun,” said Guardians center fielder Petey Halpin, who hit his first postseason home run on Thursday in Game 3. “We feed off the crowd, feed off the energy. It’s great.”
Halpin’s two-run homer in the fifth inning gave Cleveland the lead for good in a 3-2 victory. It continued a breakout postseason for the 24-year-old rookie, who is batting .364 (4-for-11) with an .818 slugging percentage since moving into the lineup for the Guardians’ win-or-go-home Game 5 against the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night.
In one of the most improbable scenes in recent memory, Halpin unleashed a 25-foot-high bat flip after taking Griffin Jax deep Thursday — and basked in chants of “Pe-tey” each time he came to the plate or fielded a ball the rest of the afternoon.
“The bat flip was maybe a little much, if you ask me, but the moment was so exciting,” said Guardians closer Cade Smith. “We’re thrilled when stuff like that happens. It’s so much fun. Guys are jumping around, giving high-fives, so it’s a lot of fun.”
Cleveland’s pitching plan has come together well for potential Games 6 and 7 on the road, which would see Parker Messick and postseason strikeout leader Gavin Williams go on normal rest.
One bullpen game and one traditional starter are needed for the next two with Foster Griffin, Joey Cantillo and Slade Cecconi the top candidates to fulfill the starting role. Tanner Bibee is another option, but his poor outing in Game 4 of the AL Division Series against the White Sox hurt his stock.
“It is what it is. Our guys are ready to go at all times,” Vogt said. “Obviously, with everything up in the air, we’re going to be prepared to play. Whatever time, whatever place.”
Tampa Bay, which won Game 2 at home, made Nick Martinez available to the media Thursday in a postgame press conference, a role generally reserved in the playoffs for the next game’s starter. The 36-year-old right-hander pitched 3 2/3 innings and gave up two runs against the New York Yankees when he started Game 3 of the ALDS on Oct. 7.
Martinez went 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA in the regular season over 31 starts, but Cash made him a bullpen option earlier in the ALCS. The skipper said he expects “a pretty rain-filled day,” which is why he wouldn’t commit to Martinez starting Game 4.
“The first game, I sat in the bullpen and didn’t really like it,” Martinez said, chuckling. “I was in the dugout with cleats on the second game. Whatever the team needs, I’m up for it. That’s got to be my mentality for the rest of the year.”
Martinez pitched brilliantly against the Guardians during the regular season. He won both of his starts while permitting just seven hits and one walk over 13 scoreless innings. He added nine strikeouts as Cleveland’s batters posted a .159/.178/.182 slash line against him.
“We’re just going to take it as we go, right?” Martinez said. “Not much you can control about that, so just be ready to go.”
–Brian Dulik, Field Level Media
