The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in ALCS Game 4 on Saturday at Progressive Field, evening the series at two games apiece. A three-run seventh inning, aided by two Cleveland fielding errors, broke open a tight game and sent the series back to a best-of-three stretch.
Tampa Bay trailed 1-0 early before chipping away and then pulling away late. Jonathan Aranda drove in two runs and scored twice, while Yandy Diaz capped the win with a two-run homer in the ninth. Cleveland’s Travis Bazzana homered in the seventh to cut the deficit, but the Guardians could not complete the comeback and fell to 85-77 for the season.
How The Rays Pulled Away
Cleveland struck first in the bottom of the first when Chase DeLauter singled home Steven Kwan. Tampa Bay answered in the third on an Aranda single that scored Diaz, tying the game at 1-1.
The Rays took their first lead in the sixth when Junior Caminero doubled to left, driving in Aranda. The score stayed 2-1 until the seventh inning, when Tampa Bay broke the game open. Aranda singled to right, and two Cleveland errors, including one by right fielder DeLauter, allowed both Richie Palacios and Taylor Walls to score. Chandler Simpson added a sacrifice fly to make it 5-1.
Cleveland answered with two runs of its own in the bottom half. Bazzana homered to right field, and Brayan Rocchio’s single drove in another run, cutting the deficit to 5-3. The Guardians got no closer. Diaz put the game away in the ninth with a two-run homer to right field that scored Palacios and made it 7-3.
Takeaways From Rays’ Win Over Guardians
Tampa Bay’s bottom of the order delivered
Aranda finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs scored and a walk, setting the table or driving in runs in three separate innings. His seventh-inning single started the sequence that turned a one-run game into a four-run cushion.
Cleveland’s defense opened the door
The Guardians committed two errors, both factoring into Tampa Bay’s decisive seventh-inning rally. Cleveland starter Foster Griffin had held the Rays to one run over 3.2 innings before the bullpen and defense faltered.
Diaz provided the final blow
Diaz went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and two RBIs. His ninth-inning homer, his second extra-base hit of the game, pushed the lead to four runs and closed the door on any late Cleveland rally.
Player Of The Game: Yandy Diaz
Diaz went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. His two-run shot in the ninth inning provided the final margin in the 7-3 win.
By The Numbers
Tampa Bay out-hit Cleveland 11-8 despite striking out 12 times to the Guardians’ six. The Rays also stole two bases and committed no errors, while Cleveland’s two errors both led directly to runs in the pivotal seventh inning. Nick Martinez earned the win after allowing just one run over 5.1 innings, while Daniel Espino took the loss after surrendering a run in just 0.1 innings of relief. Cleveland reliever Matt Festa allowed two runs on two hits in 1.1 innings, his ERA climbing to 13.50 in limited postseason work.
What’s Next
The ALCS is tied 2-2 after Tampa Bay’s win, setting up a pivotal Game 5. The Rays improved to 98-64 on the season, while the Guardians fell to 85-77. Game 5 is next, with the Rays and Guardians tied 2-2.
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