CLEVELAND — Starting pitcher Nick Martinez passed the baton to Drew Rasmussen. Now, it’s up to Freddy Peralta to finish the job and take the Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series.
The Rays return home to St. Petersburg, Fla., on Monday to host Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, holding a 3-2 lead over the Cleveland Guardians after two straight victories on the road.
Trade-deadline acquisition Peralta (1-0, 0.79 ERA), a right-hander, has an opportunity to win the best-of-seven set and send Tampa Bay into a matchup with the National League champion Milwaukee Brewers in the Fall Classic.
“It’s funny because our first goal when we got to Cleveland was just to get back to The Trop,” Rays closer Bryan Baker said, referring to their ballpark. “Then, to be able to go back in this position is exactly what we wanted to do.
“It’s what we worked for. It was a huge couple of games here to get to this spot, and I’m super proud of the guys to come this far.”
The Guardians boarded their flight to Florida with more questions than answers, shell-shocked after their momentum disappeared with a rainout Friday. Cleveland managed just two runs in 12 1/3 combined innings against Martinez and Rasmussen.
Peralta, who came over from the New York Mets, will make his second start and third appearance in the ALCS. He won Game 2 and pitched in relief in Game 4, tossing 6 2/3 total scoreless innings with six strikeouts and a .167 opponent batting average.
“Kudos to Freddy, he’s been awesome to have around as a human being,” Rasmussen said. “It’s not necessarily the most comfortable thing to get traded and being told we’re going to make some mechanical adjustments. But I think he’s gotten back to being an athlete and not quite so robotic.”
In ALCS history, the team that takes a 3-2 lead has advanced to the World Series 69.6% of the time (16 of 23).
Further complicating Cleveland’s comeback chances is its lack of options on the mound. All-Star Parker Messick lasted a career-low two innings in Game 5, and ace Gavin Williams is unavailable in any capacity after earning the win Thursday in Game 3.
Mercurial Joey Cantillo (0-0, 2.70) is likely, but not certain, to be the bulk reliever. The left-hander has given up one hit and two walks in 1 2/3 scoreless innings in the ALCS, but was ripped for five runs in 3 2/3 innings in a July 24 loss at Tampa Bay.
“We’ll have a plan, but we’re not sure who is going to take the ball first,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “But Gavin is not an option.
“We know we’ve got our work cut out for us, but if there’s a group I’m betting on to get this done, it’s our guys.”
Cleveland rallied from a 2-0 deficit to eliminate the Chicago White Sox in the best-of-five Division Series earlier in October. If the Guardians can survive Game 6 against the Rays, Williams and potentially Messick would be in play for the winner-take-all finale.
But it’s a steep hill for the Guardians to climb to get there.
“It will help a ton, knowing we’re able to do it when facing elimination,” Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan said. “And I think we feel better on this one, since we’ve got some wins under our belt against them.
“We’ll just have to trust our plans, turn the page and see what happens.”
–Brian Dulik, Field Level Media
